understand
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under·stand (un′dər stand′)
transitive verb understood -·stood′, understanding -·stand′·ing
- to get or perceive the meaning of; know or grasp what is meant by; comprehend to understand a question
- to gather or assume from what is heard, known, etc.; infer are we to understand that you want to go?
- to take as meant or meaning; interpret to understand his silence as refusal
- to take for granted or as a fact it is understood that no one is to leave
- to supply mentally (an idea, word, etc.), as for grammatical completeness
- to get as information; learn
- to know thoroughly; grasp or perceive clearly and fully the nature, character, functioning, etc. of
- to have a sympathetic rapport with no one understands me
Etymology: ME understanden < OE understandan, lit., to stand among, hence observe, understand
intransitive verb
- to have understanding, comprehension, sympathetic awareness, etc., either in general or with reference to something specific
- to be informed; believe he is, I understand, no longer here
Related Forms:
- understandable un′der·stand′·able adjective
- understandably un′der·stand′·ably adverb
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alternate definitions:
understand
v.
To comprehend
comprehend, apprehend, fathom, take in, grasp, figure out, seize, take (one's meaning), identify with, know, perceive, appreciate, follow, master, conceive, be aware of, sense, recognize, grow aware, explain, interpret, cognize, see through, learn, find out, ken, see (into), catch, note, be conscious of, have cognizance of, wot, ween, realize, discern, read, distinguish, infer, deduce, induce, make out, make sense of, be apprized of, become alive to, have been around, experience, have knowledge of, be instructed in, get to the bottom of, get at the root of, penetrate, possess, be informed of, come to one's senses, see the light, make out, register*, savvy*, get*, get the gist of*, catch on*, get the point of*, dig*, read between the lines*, be with it*, get the hand of*, get the idea*. Antonyms
misunderstand*, be ignorant, go astray. To suppose
guess, conjecture, surmise; see assume 1.To accept
understand and comprehend are used interchangeably to imply clear perception of the meaning of something, but, more precisely, understand stresses the full awareness or knowledge arrived at, and comprehend, the process of grasping something mentally one may comprehend the words in an idiom without understanding at all what is meant; appreciate implies sensitive, discriminating perception of the exact worth or value of something to appreciate the difficulties of a situation
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.
Object
- importance: They recognize that there is a great variety of living things and understand the importance of classification.
Adjective complement
- more: Retinal vessel occlusion Summary: Simple guides designed to help you understand more about your eye condition.
Modifying Another Word
- fully: We will neither fully understand him, nor argue him away.
Used with why or when
- why: You begin to understand why the game ships on three CDs.
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.
Neque enim quaero ut credem, sed credo ut intelligam. For I do not seek to understand so that I may believe; but I believe so that I may understand.
I do not mind what language an opera is sung in so long as it is a language I don't understand.
If you don't believe it, you won't understand it.
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
"understand." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/understand>
APA Style
understand. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/understand

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