construe

1 of 2

verb

con·​strue kən-ˈstrü 

construed; construing

transitive verb

1

: to analyze the arrangement and connection of words in (a sentence or sentence part)

construe this Latin sentence by Cicero

2

: to understand or explain the sense or intention of usually in a particular way or with respect to a given set of circumstances

construed my actions as hostile

Her frustration was construed as anger.

intransitive verb

: to construe a sentence or sentence part especially in connection with translating

construable

kən-ˈstrü-ə-bəl 

adjective

construe

2 of 2

noun

con·​strue ˈkän-ˌstrü 

: an act or the result of construing especially by piecemeal translation

Did you know?

Construe comes from the Latin verb construere, meaning "to construct." There is also misconstrue, meaning "to put a wrong construction (that is, a wrong interpretation) on" or "to misinterpret."

Did you know?

Construe can usually be translated as "interpret". It's often used in law; thus, an Attorney General might construe the term "serious injury" in a child-abuse law to include bruises, or a judge might construe language about gifts to "heirs" to include spouses. The IRS's construal of some of your activities might be different from your own—and much more expensive at tax time. Construing is also close to translating; so when the British say "public school", for instance, it should be construed or translated as "prep school" in American terms.

Synonyms

Verb

• clarify
• clear (up)
• demonstrate
• demystify
• elucidate
• explain
• explicate
• expound
• get across
• illuminate
• illustrate
• interpret
• simplify
• spell out
• unriddle

Examples of construe in a Sentence

Verb

The way the court construes various words has changed over time.

the role of the justices of the Supreme Court in construing the constitution

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Nothing contained in this Settlement Agreement is or may be construed to be an admission by the Company of any violation of law or regulation, any other matter of fact or law, or any liability or wrongdoing. —Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2023

This subsection may not be construed to impose liability on any speech protected by federal or state law. —Adeel Hassan, New York Times, 27 June 2023

This means not taking steps that could be construed as supporting Taiwan independence. —Time, 27 June 2023

Those let out on bail, often after lengthy pretrial detentions, are now no longer allowed to participate in demonstrations, travel abroad without a court’s permission, or engage in activities that might in any way be construed as affecting the monarchy. —Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2023

Military officials said the policies should not be construed as a more permissive stance on drug use once people are in the service. —Ernesto Londoño, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2023

This could be construed as Data Science -> Generative AI, implying that data science is being applied to the crafting of generative AI. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 July 2023

What Sims-Fewer viewed as utopian ideals could be construed as hurtful and even downright offensive by others. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 16 May 2023

Natt had originally motioned to remove Helm, Riggs and another voter as a block, until the lawyer advised that this could be construed as systematically processing a mass challenge. —Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 13 July 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Late Latin construere, from Latin, to construct

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1844, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

construe

verb

con·​strue

kən-ˈstrü

construed; construing

1

: to explain the grammatical relationships of the words in a sentence, clause, or phrase

2

: to understand or explain the sense or intention of : interpret

construable

-ˈstrü-ə-bəl

adjective