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.
Examples of construe in a Sentence
Katie Stockton, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2025
The coterie of scholars and consultants who are pushing pluralism are all deeply worried that their work will be construed as yet another leftist program of indoctrination—or, now that Trump is cracking down on D.E.I., mistrusted by academics as capitulation to the regime.
—Emma Green, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
In addition, penalizing organizations based on their activities, mission, or associations could be construed as an unlawful restriction of speech or association under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
—Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
However, this foreigner’s gaze might also be construed as colonialist.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for construe
Cite this Entry
“Construe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/construe. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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