comprehension

noun

com·​pre·​hen·​sion ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-shən 

-prē-

1

a

: the act or action of grasping with the intellect : understanding

children who have difficulty with comprehension of spoken language

What the artist actually needs is comprehension of his aims and ideals by men he respects …

—H. L. Mencken

b

: knowledge gained by comprehending

tests that measure the students' comprehension in math

She carried on with full comprehension of the risk involved.

c

: the capacity for understanding fully

mysteries that are beyond our comprehension

The war caused suffering beyond comprehension.

2

a

: the act or process of comprising

the comprehension of all the denominations into one Church

b

: the faculty or capability of including : comprehensiveness

the broad comprehension of the word "animal"

3

: connotation sense 3

Synonyms of comprehension

• understanding
• appreciation

Examples of comprehension in a Sentence

The students showed excellent reading comprehension.

the president's comprehension of the current situation in the Middle East

Recent Examples on the Web

Research from Anthropic suggests that AI can improve task completion speed, but overreliance may reduce comprehension and retention. — Ryan McMillen, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

My client was a juvenile charged in adult court who struggled with significant mental health issues and limited comprehension. — Schnelle Tonge, Sun Sentinel, 16 July 2026

And Mikhail Fiksel’s looping systems architecture and sound design, while beyond my technical comprehension, added to the unique magic of a score that is discovering itself in real time. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Faced with shrinking attention spans and declining comprehension, schools might have been expected to resist the impulse toward shorter passages and shallower reading. — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin comprehension-, comprehensio, from comprehendere to understand, comprise

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing comprehension

• beyond comprehension
• beyond comprehension/understanding
• beyond one's comprehension

Rhymes for comprehension

• apprehension
• condescension
• hypertension
• hypotension
• reinvention
• reprehension
• resuspension
• attention
• contention
• convention
• declension
• detention

Kids Definition

comprehension

noun

com·​pre·​hen·​sion ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen-chən 

1

: the act of comprehending

2

: knowledge gained by comprehending

3

: the capacity for understanding