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

Now apply that to everything else that a student might do in an educational setting, from reading comprehension to reasoning to critical thinking to even making friends. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026

Because the underlying models are beyond the level of human comprehension, the only way to make models reliable and predictable today is to corral them with harnesses and other AI models that keep them in check. — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2026

The comprehension required to use it does not follow automatically. — Amer Al Ahbabi, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Working on these problems improves both mathematical and reading comprehension skills. — Nicole Harris, Parents, 26 Aug. 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