apprehending

verb

present participle of apprehend
1
as in knowing
to have a clear idea of do you apprehend the importance of this discovery?

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in arresting
to take or keep under one's control by authority of law the agency charged with apprehending criminals who have violated federal law

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of apprehending Police posted video of the raid on social media, showing officers collecting evidence at the scene and apprehending the suspect. — CBS News, 13 June 2026 The Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office, United States Marshals Service and New Mexico State Police assisted in apprehending Jones, Hann said. — Caroline Zimmerman may 28, Kansas City Star, 28 May 2026 Federal immigration agents fanned across the city, apprehending workers at car washes, garment businesses, Home Depots and other locations. — Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026 This arc is advancing slower than a glacier on Hoth, and Mando apprehending a couple of mid-level Imps on the big screen doesn't really fill the gap. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 25 May 2026 In the video shared exclusively with Fox News by ICE, officers are seen apprehending and arresting the Honduran national. — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Danamarie McNicholl, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026 The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 compelled authorities in northern free states to assist in apprehending and returning those who escaped back to slavery. — Jeremy Mennis, The Conversation, 1 May 2026 Los Angeles ran from 2009 to 2023, centered around the high-stakes world of a division of NCIS that is charged with apprehending dangerous and elusive criminals, who pose a threat to the nation’s security. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026 Putting them under military authority allowed troops to play an unprecedented role in apprehending undocumented immigrants; federal soldiers are generally barred from enforcing the law on domestic soil. — Agnel Philip, ProPublica, 2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apprehending
  1. knowing
  2. arresting
  3. understanding
  4. seizing
  5. recognizing
  6. detaining
  7. deciphering
  8. comprehending
Verb
  • One staffer who is still at the CDC said much of her anger is tied up in knowing that Kennedy’s feelings about vaccines are similar to the shooter’s.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • There’s a quiet comfort in knowing your neighbors, especially in a sprawling, sometimes lonely city like Los Angeles.
    — Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of knowing
Verb
  • Sharif’s government responded with a crackdown on Khan’s party, arresting its leaders and banning it from contesting the 2024 general election.
    — Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Child said the family did not learn until the following day that deputies had initially released Farinacci before arresting him after investigators developed additional evidence.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of arresting
Verb
  • Order is restored to the kingdom through what is known as the Rumpelstiltskin effect, a term used by psychologists to describe the naming of something in order to create an illusion of understanding it.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Why Boxwoods Turn Brown The key to saving a browning boxwood is understanding why its foliage is fading to begin with, as not all causes are necessarily bad.
    — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of understanding
Verb
  • The Dodgers weren’t actually bankrupt at the time, but then owner Frank McCourt used the process to keep MLB from seizing the team.
    — Barry M. Bloom, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Withers, 28, has lately been seizing every opportunity in his path, but the Amazon MGM Studios rom-com represents a chance to show a lighter side.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of seizing
Verb
  • Still, Gilbert, recognizing the risks, urged his audience to seize the day.
    — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
  • According to the Skydio website, the X10 model is capable of recognizing people from a 2,620-foot distance and reading license plates from 800 feet away.
    — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of recognizing
Verb
  • While detaining Taele, deputies found a 16-round magazine containing hollow-point ammunition in a pants pocket.
    — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Authorities said detectives found a butane lighter and waterproof matches while detaining and searching him.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of detaining
Verb
  • Western San Gabriel Mountains/Highway 14 Corridor When an air quality alert pops up on the radar, deciphering its implications is crucial.
    — Southern California Weather Report, Daily News, 30 July 2026
  • Jonestown afflicted Naipaul’s vision, his way of deciphering not just political manias but the dreariness of urban life, the perpetual doom of the nuclear-arms race.
    — Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 14 July 2026
Definition of deciphering
Verb
  • Without comprehending what was happening, Kikuko looked up at the sagging skin of her father’s throat.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Hard sci-fi, meanwhile, leans into the fact that life evolving on other planets, under different conditions, and across different stretches of time will almost certainly take on forms so different from ours that comprehending them would be like imagining a new color.
    — Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 24 Mar. 2026
Definition of comprehending

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Cite this Entry

“Apprehending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apprehending. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of apprehending for Spanish Speakers

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