apprehends

verb

present tense third-person singular of apprehend
1
as in knows
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 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
  1. knows
  2. arrests
  3. understands
  4. seizes
  5. recognizes
  6. detains
  7. comprehends
  8. grabs
Verb
  • The staff knows the property well, and the concierge desk is genuinely useful.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But as any fellow candle-lover knows, the wax doesn’t always stay in the jar.
    — Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 26 Sep. 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
  • People are complicated, and Juno Temple understands the character well enough to embody Keeley’s contradictions and make sense of them, most of the time.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2026
  • A student who understands the course content should be able to demonstrate that understanding regardless of the evaluation method.
    — Neetu Arnold, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of understands
Verb
  • Wilson, meanwhile, seizes on the opening to play teacher’s pet.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Obreht is a writer who doesn’t rush into easy patterns of storytelling but seizes control from the jump.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of seizes
Verb
  • The honor recognizes recognizes filmmakers whose bodies of work have made significant contributions to contemporary cinema.
    — Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Hamm also created the Harold Hamm International Prize for Biomedical Research in Diabetes, which recognizes and promotes lasting achievements in diabetes research.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of recognizes
Verb
  • The Midwest Regional Reception Center detains close to 500 fathers, mothers, spouses, cousins and friends on behalf of ICE.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 18 Aug. 2026
  • 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
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
  • Ryan opens it, grabs a Diet Coke and asks one of his assistants to summon a cup of ice.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Paramount grabs a distribution fee and recovers its marketing and P&A costs from ticket sales before sharing the remaining profits with Miramax.
    — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of grabs

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apprehending
apprehends
apprehensible
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Cite this Entry

“Apprehends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apprehends. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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