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comprehension definition

com·pre·hen·sion (-hens̸hen)

noun

  1. the fact of including or comprising; inclusiveness
    1. the act of grasping with the mind
    2. understanding or knowledge that results from this
  2. the capacity for understanding ideas, facts, etc.

Etymology: ME comprehensioun < L comprehensio < comprehensus, pp. of comprehendere: see comprehend

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
comprehension Synonyms

comprehension

n.

  1. Capacity to understand

    understanding, perception, cognizance, grasp; see awareness, judgment 1, knowledge 1.

  2. An including

    incorporation, circumscription, embodiment; see inclusion.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

comprehension Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • defy: Part 1 Geological evidence points to an cataclysmic event that almost defies comprehension.

Adjective modifier

  • verbal: Their mean score on a standardized test of verbal comprehension put them at the 10th percentile ( i.e.

Modifies a noun

  • axiom: The most general comprehension axiom of Z is the axiom of Separation.

Noun used with modifier

  • listening: There was only one listening comprehension test in the second semester.
comprehension usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

comprehension quotes

Sociology is a new science concerning itself not with esoteric matters outside the comprehension of the layman, as the older sciences do, but with the ordinary affairs of ordinary people. This seems to engender in those who write about it a feeling that the lack of anyabstruseness in their subject matter demands a compensatoryabstruseness in their language. 365

-Gowers, Sir Ernest Arthur

Some books accrete things to themselves like a magnet. The writer risks sterility by subjecting the mysterious power of imagination to the devices of mere comprehension.

-Holmes,John Clellon

comprehension quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"comprehension." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/comprehension>

APA Style

comprehension. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/comprehension

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