Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To become aware of the nature and significance of; know or comprehend.
- intransitive verb To become aware of the intended meaning of (a person or remark, for example).
- intransitive verb To know and be tolerant or sympathetic toward.
- intransitive verb To know thoroughly by close contact or long experience with.
- intransitive verb To learn indirectly or infer, as from hearsay.
- intransitive verb To assume to be or accept as agreed.
- intransitive verb To supply or add (words or a meaning, for example) mentally.
- intransitive verb To have understanding, knowledge, or comprehension.
- intransitive verb To have sympathy or tolerance.
- intransitive verb To learn something indirectly or secondhand; gather.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To receive from a word or collocation of words or from a sign the idea it is intended to convey: with the thing said, the person speaking, or the language as the direct object of the verb.
- To interpret the signification of; seize the idea of; comprehend as resulting from a thought, principle, or rule; explain.
- To receive information about; learn by paying heed to what is said and done; consider.
- To know in substance, as a fact or saying; be acquainted with; recognize.
- To take as meant or implied; imply; infer; assume; take for granted: chiefly in the past participle.
- To recognize as implied or meant, although not expressed; supply mentally, as a word necessary to bring out the sense of an author: as, in the phrase ‘All are mortal,’ we must understand the word men, living beings, or the like.
- To stand under.
- To have the use of the intellectual faculties; be an intelligent and conscious being; have understanding; be wise.
- To be informed by another; learn.
- To give attention; listen.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To have the use of the intellectual faculties; to be an intelligent being.
- intransitive verb To be informed; to have or receive knowledge.
- transitive verb To have just and adequate ideas of; to apprehended the meaning or intention of; to have knowledge of; to comprehend; to know
- transitive verb To be apprised, or have information, of; to learn; to be informed of; to hear.
- transitive verb To recognize or hold as being or signifying; to suppose to mean; to interpret; to explain.
- transitive verb To mean without expressing; to imply tacitly; to take for granted; to assume.
- transitive verb Jocose & R. To stand under; to support.
- transitive verb to cause one to know.
- transitive verb to make one's meaning clear.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To be aware of the
meaning of. - verb To
believe , based on information. - verb To
impute meaning, character etc. that is not explicitly stated.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
- verb be understanding of
- verb perceive (an idea or situation) mentally
- verb make sense of a language
- verb believe to be the case
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word understand.
Examples
-
A person near expressed a fear that he did not understand what I said, being so weak and near death, but he quickly, and with great emphasis, exclaimed, '_I hear, I understand_' While I was praying his expression of countenance was most lovely.
Metlakahtla and the North Pacific Mission Eugene Stock 1882
-
And that is not the worst of it; they can't understand that _I can't understand_ them.
Rollo in Holland Jacob Abbott 1841
-
And some pious neighbors, earnestly exhorting him to solemn concern and preparation, could not make him understand, we repeat with emphasis, _understand_ why there was occasion for any extraordinary disturbance of mind.
An Essay on the Evils of Popular Ignorance John Foster 1806
-
For God has so ordered the Prophecies, that in the latter days _the wise may understand, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand_, Dan. xii.
Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John Isaac Newton 1684
-
And the studies that we are doing are not only going to help us understand BPA, but they’re really going to help us understand endocrine-disrupting chemicals in general.
-
And with that in mind just in case you didn’t understand a word of the afore-mentioned, I will put it in a language you can understand
ugotsoul Diary Entry ugotsoul 2003
-
The term "atheist" is itself confusing, since it is often unclear whether those who use the label understand it to mean a rejection of every notion of God, or a rejection of theism.
Science and Religion Around the Blogosphere James F. McGrath 2008
-
The term "atheist" is itself confusing, since it is often unclear whether those who use the label understand it to mean a rejection of every notion of God, or a rejection of theism.
Archive 2008-05-01 James F. McGrath 2008
-
The only tactic that the GOP seems to understand is tossing out the false equivalency argument.
Kaine: GOP 'civil war' pushing moderate Republicans 'overboard' 2010
-
The only tactic that the GOP seems to understand is tossing out the false equivalency argument.
Kaine: GOP 'civil war' pushing moderate Republicans 'overboard' 2010
oroboros commented on the word understand
"I can get behind that!"
January 31, 2007