comprehend

verb com·pre·hend \ ˌkäm-pri-ˈhend , -prē- \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of comprehend

transitive verb

1 : to grasp the nature, significance, or meaning of

unable to comprehend what has happened

2 : to contain or hold within a total scope, significance, or amount

… philosophy's scope comprehends the truth of everything which man may understand …
—Henry Osborn Taylor

3 : to include by construction or implication

Does not prudence comprehend all the virtues?
—Thomas B. Silver

Our civilization comprehends great variety and complexity …
—Perry Meisel

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comprehendible

play \ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen-də-bəl, -prē-\ adjective

See comprehend defined for English-language learners

See comprehend defined for kids

Examples of comprehend in a Sentence

the age at which children can comprehend the difference between right and wrong
it took me a while to comprehend algebra

Recent Examples of comprehend from the Web

Freeman-Wilson said people also ought to comprehend that most Gary residents are not violent people.

— gregory tejeda, Post-Tribune, "Gary leaders promote anti-violence campaign," 13 Apr. 2018
It’s hard to comprehend just how large an impact the GI Bill had on the Greatest Generation, not just in the immediate aftermath of the war, but also in the financial future of former servicemen.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "Why buying a house today is so much harder than in 1950," 10 Apr. 2018
The same algorithms designed to improve chatbots’ ability to recognize different languages and comprehend dialogue will be particularly relevant to Facebook’s ability to flag objectionable content worldwide.

— larry greenemeier, Scientific American, "Can AI Really Solve Facebook’s Problems?," 13 Apr. 2018
Our priorities for modernizing the standards are the need for one national set of requirements and the need to comprehend new technology developments and increased shared and autonomous electric vehicles.

— mark phelan, Detroit Free Press, "Automakers should ignore EPA, continue path to clean, efficient vehicles," 3 Apr. 2018
No one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this reach or where this could go.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "Emma González’s March for Our Lives Speech Lasted As Long As the Parkland Shooting," 24 Mar. 2018
When Alan came up to me and said someone wants to sign him, that thought was very hard to comprehend.

— kat bein, Billboard, "Alan Walker Shares His Baby Pics, Announces Kygo Tour: Watch," 28 Feb. 2018
What's hard to comprehend is how anyone could think that making light of rape is even remotely OK.

— refinery29.com, "After Saying Big Little Lies "Raped" HBO's Budget, Exec Apologizes," 13 Mar. 2018
The scale of such theft is hard to comprehend, and even harder to quantify.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Persistent Crime of Nazi-Looted Art," 11 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'comprehend.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

To comprehend is to mentally grasp something's complete nature or meaning. Comprehend is thus often a bit stronger than understand: for example, you may understand the instructions in a handbook without completely comprehending their purpose. Comprehend's second meaning is much less common. Using that sense of the word, we could say that good manners comprehends (that is, includes) more than simple table etiquette, for example, or that true courage comprehends more than just physical showing off. And something comprehensive includes a great deal: so a comprehensive exam, for instance, includes all the material that was studied in the course.

Origin and Etymology of comprehend

Middle English, from Anglo-French comprendre, comprehendre, from Latin comprehendere, from com- + prehendere to grasp — more at get

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

comprehend Synonyms

Phrases

pick up on;

Synonym Discussion of comprehend

understand, comprehend, appreciate mean to have a clear or complete idea of. understand and comprehend are very often interchangeable. understand may, however, stress the fact of having attained a firm mental grasp of something.

- orders that were fully understood and promptly obeyed

comprehend may stress the process of coming to grips with something intellectually.

- I have trouble comprehending your reasons for doing this

appreciate implies a just evaluation or judgment of a thing's value or nature.

- failed to appreciate the risks involved

include, comprehend, embrace, involve mean to contain within as part of the whole. include suggests the containment of something as a constituent, component, or subordinate part of a larger whole.