APPREHENDS Synonyms: 99 Similar and Opposite Words

apprehends

verb

present tense third-person singular of apprehend

as in knows

to have a clear idea of do you apprehend the importance of this discovery?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in arrests

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 apprehends John Early, as anyone encountering his work soon apprehends, chooses the latter. — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 7 June 2026 Though the team immediately apprehends a suspect, the Marshals end up taking criticism from both sides. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 21 Mar. 2026 Neighbors are now living in fear, looking on as ICE apprehends people of color across Minnesota. — Jason Rantala, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026 The team successfully seizes two tons of gold and apprehends the leader of the criminal network. — Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 14 Jan. 2026 Suppose the number is read in one case out of a hundred, and that the information reaches someone who apprehends the culprit in one case out of one thousand. — Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for apprehends

Verb

Another gripe for many is the American accents uniformly applied to these characters from Greek mythology when everyone knows that all the glorious empires of Hollywood speak exclusively in British accents.

— Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
No one knows all the factors behind the population’s recent boom, although researchers point to recent extreme weather events and climate change, perhaps compounded with a rise in shipping traffic over recent decades.

— Kasha Patel, CNN Money, 18 July 2026

Definition of knows

Verb

Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Devlin throws a punch at Stone when the chief arrests him for drunken driving.

— Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026

Definition of arrests

Verb

Rhaenyra, queen of the Blacks, seizes the Iron Throne in King’s Landing with the support of Alicent, who has simply had enough of her unstable and terrible sons.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 July 2026
Trump seizes America’s 250th-birthday spotlight, headlining the Great American State Fair, hosting a UFC bout at the White House and promoting new passports, $250 bills and coins bearing his image.

— Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026

Definition of seizes

Verb

The tournament recognizes outstanding individuals through several awards, including the Golden Ball for best player, Golden Boot for top scorer, Golden Glove for best goalkeeper and the FIFA Young Player Award.

— Patricio Chile, ABC News, 17 July 2026
As Jeff recognizes, college doesn’t have a recruitment problem.

— Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of recognizes

Verb

The policy guidance applies to agents under Enforcement and Removal Operations, the branch of ICE that detains and ultimately deports undocumented immigrants.

— Philip Wang, Time, 14 July 2026
Alligator Alcatraz houses a few hundred employees in trailers and detains about 650 male immigrants in large tents; until a few weeks ago, the number of those being detained was nearly 1,500.

— Eric Schlosser, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026

Definition of detains

Verb

In an oppositional reading of a media text, the audience comprehends that the message conflicts with or contradicts their personal experiences of society.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 May 2026
In the end, A Guardian and a Thief is a story that comprehends hunger more deeply than the world that produces it.

— Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025

Definition of comprehends

Verb

The company said its proprietary data asset grabs millions of live data points across tens of thousands of factories and suppliers.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 17 July 2026
Objects d’art In the living room, a vintage motorcycle immediately grabs visitors’ attention.

— Annabelle Dufraigne, Architectural Digest, 14 July 2026

Definition of grabs

Browse Nearby Words

apprehending

apprehends

apprehensible

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Apprehends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apprehends. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of apprehends

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on apprehends

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

itinerant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes