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Definition of comprehension
1a : 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. Menckenb : 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.
2a : the act or process of comprising the comprehension of all the denominations into one Churchb : the faculty or capability of including : comprehensiveness the broad comprehension of the word "animal"
3 : connotation 3
From the M-W Editors
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 of comprehension from the Web
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Students are making gains in math and reading comprehension.
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But after the Pacers have shown impossibly poor reading comprehension on words written between the lines, Paul George apparently has instructed his agent to write it in bold, and in all caps: BYE.
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At this stage of his career, rich beyond comprehension and three NBA titles on his résumé, James possesses a singular goal.
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The fact that such an unspeakable act can be committed at a place where innocent people — including so many young people — come together peacefully to enjoy music reflects a level of evil beyond comprehension.
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The fact that such an unspeakable act can be committed at a place where innocent people — including so many young people — come together peacefully to enjoy music reflects a level of evil beyond comprehension.
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Weaknesses: There are a lot of questions here, beginning with Allen’s overall basketball comprehension.
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That there must have been young Muslim fans of Ariana Grande who also happened to be attending her concert in Manchester on Monday night when the bomb exploded is perhaps also beyond their comprehension.
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That struggle for comprehension did not end with Pulido’s death.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'comprehension'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of comprehension
Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin comprehension-, comprehensio, from comprehendere to understand, comprise
COMPREHENSION Defined for English Language Learners
comprehension
playDefinition of comprehension for English Language Learners
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: ability to understand
COMPREHENSION Defined for Kids
comprehension
playDefinition of comprehension for Students
: ability to understand reading comprehension beyond comprehension
Learn More about comprehension
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See words that rhyme with comprehension Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for comprehension Spanish Central: Translation of comprehension Nglish: Translation of comprehension for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of comprehension for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about comprehension
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