comprehending

verb

present participle of comprehend
1
as in understanding
to have a clear idea of the age at which children can comprehend the difference between right and wrong

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in knowing
to have a practical understanding of it took me a while to comprehend algebra

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in including
to have as part of a whole our notion of morality should comprehend much more than proper sexual behavior

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 comprehending Infinite Jasons • MacNamara is so far from comprehending the box that his Jason looked utterly bored by his questions. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026 Understanding that this is policy is crucial for comprehending how Israeli soldiers are expected to dutifully erase entire villages without questioning orders. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026 By utilizing three classes of agents, Microsoft is effectively comprehending the entire threat lifecycle. — Will Townsend, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 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 As for whether comprehending the wiring of the brain really demands techniques from the frontiers of theoretical physics, questions remain. — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 13 Jan. 2026 And only by comprehending the Star Eaters will Ro also comprehend his part in their potential destruction. — Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2026 And then just comprehending the infrastructure required, again, just for the eggs, let alone all the other things required. — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 18 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comprehending
  1. understanding
  2. knowing
  3. including
  4. deciphering
  5. involving
  6. recognizing
  7. encompassing
  8. grasping
Verb
  • The model provides a baseline for understanding what a planet’s atmosphere might look like without life.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The key is understanding your audience’s habits, wants and needs, then communicating with them in the right places.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of understanding
Verb
  • That was despite knowing Mendoza would eventually replace Cousins, which occurred Tuesday when the 15-year veteran was traded to the Minnesota Vikings.
    — Mark Anderson, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Mowing correctly in fall entails knowing when to make the final cut and how high the grass should be left to stand for winter.
    — David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of knowing
Verb
  • Schmulling suspects customers will find other ways to buy THC drinks, including looking to neighboring states or other available markets.
    — Evan Moore November 12, Charlotte Observer, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Twelve of those signers were elected last week, including board president-elect Jessica Biggs.
    — Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of including
Verb
  • Bahdanau was working with artificial neural networks, which had already shown promise in pattern-recognition tasks such as deciphering handwriting and identifying objects in photos.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to developing better medicines or perfumes, deciphering the mirror images of molecules can help scientists understand the chemical architecture of life, said chemist Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the journal Science.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of deciphering
Verb
  • The company also used the model to reproduce computationally a finding involving inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
  • With under five minutes remaining in regulation, Pelicans reserve forward Julian Reese — the brother of Atlanta Dream superstar Angel Reese — received a technical foul for his role in a dustup involving Clowney.
    — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of involving
Verb
  • The medal presentation marks a notable development in the controversy surrounding Hegseth's Veterans Day visit, with the defense secretary publicly recognizing the soldier whose intervention attracted widespread attention.
    — Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The Department of Defense had a particularly productive partnership with USAID, recognizing that foreign aid could be as important as force in incentivizing insurgents to make peace.
    — Andrew Natsios, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of recognizing
Verb
  • As of last week, the NCAA reported some 200 lawsuits filed since its approval of the new eligibility model in June, encompassing roughly 850 plaintiffs in a variety of sports.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The study’s authors stopped short of claiming the coinciding diversification of Cretaceous plants and oviraptorosaurs (the larger dinosaur group encompassing caenagnathidae) are directly related.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of encompassing
Verb
  • Keeping desire alive means choosing pursuits that can never be finished – a craft, a field of study, a relationship – and letting the gap between reaching and grasping stay open.
    — Stacy Keltner, The Conversation, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The closest the Kardashian sisters have come to grasping the point is a discussion about society’s beauty standards in season three of The Kardashians, when Kylie Jenner brought the topic up to Khloé Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian.
    — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of grasping

Browse Nearby Words

comprehendible
comprehending
comprehends
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Cite this Entry

“Comprehending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comprehending. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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