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interpret Definition

in·ter·pret (in tʉr′prət)

transitive verb

  1. to explain the meaning of; make understandable to interpret a poem
  2. to translate (esp. oral remarks)
  3. to have or show one's own understanding of the meaning of; construe to interpret a silence as contempt
  4. to bring out the meaning of; esp., to give one's own conception of (a work of art), as in performance or criticism
  5. to translate (a program in a high-level language) into machine language and execute it, statement by statement: said of an interpreter program

Etymology: ME interpreten < MFr intepréter < L interpretari < interpres, agent between two parties, broker, interpreter

intransitive verb

to act as an interpreter; explain or translate

interpret Related Forms

in·ter′·pret·able adjective

interpret Synonyms

interpret

v.

  1. To convey the meaning of; said especially of a work of art

    give one's impression of, render, represent, play, perform, depict, delineate, enact, portray, make sense of, construe, understand, evaluate, read, read into, improvise on, reenact, mimic, gather from, view as, give one an idea about, make of*; see also define 2, describe, represent 2.

  2. To explain

    translate, paraphrase, render; see decipher, explain. See syn. study at explain.

interpret Usage Examples

Object

  • scripture: Only the Pope or the top hierarchy could interpret the holy scriptures.
  • graph: Encourage the class to interpret the graph by asking questions such as: Which area did most children give a score of 5?
  • datum: Excavation remains the only sure way to interpret such data.
  • dream: There is no way Joseph could interpret dreams without God giving him the interpretation.
  • result: Students will be able to interpret the results of bioinformatics database searches.
  • finding: Limitations of findings There are limitations inherent in every research design which should be taken into consideration when interpreting the findings.

Subject

radiologist: Examinations were interpreted by one radiologist without access to previous investigations.

Preposition: as

integer: Specified by: readUnsignedShort in interface DataInput Returns: the next two bytes of this input stream, interpreted as an unsigned 16-bit integer.

Adjective complement

relative: Otherwise it is interpreted relative to the data directory of the ctbllib package.

Modifying Another Word

differently: How is the use of these interpreted differently in both countries?

Used with why or when

what: Hence we must interpret what he says in the light of all that we know of God the author.

Infinitive complement

mean: The word course in this context had widely been interpreted to mean degree program.

Present participle complement

  • accord: Again, then, the Old Testament should be interpreted according to the greater light of the New Testament.
  • depend: When the same entity reference is to be interpreted differently depending on context.

Preposition: in

  • accordance: These terms shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
  • conformity: As far as possible legislation ( including the licensing laws ) must be interpreted in conformity with Convention rights.
  • manner: Such text files should contain further comma-separated lists which will be read and interpreted in the same manner.
  • context: How is the word sustainable to be interpreted in this context?

Preposition: with

caution: Findings Due to the small sample size, results must be interpreted with caution.

Preposition: by

radiologist: Examinations were interpreted by one radiologist without access to previous investigations.