as in misunderstanding
a failure to understand correctly
the anthropologist's apparent incomprehension of the ceremonial rites she describes in her book surprised reviewers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 incomprehension
At this point, armed with insights about labor, the commodity, and the money-form, the reader may be shedding any melancholy incomprehension—but can’t yet have arrived at angry lucidity.
—
Benjamin Kunkel, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
The piece, as is true of much of my reporting, grew from my own incomprehension and curiosity about what was going on.
—Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2025
Take it as an opportunity to practice sitting with your incomprehension and curiosity.
—Esther K. Choy, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
Political polarization in this country is such that partisans look at each other with mutual incomprehension.
—Gary Langer, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for incomprehension
Benjamin Kunkel, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
The piece, as is true of much of my reporting, grew from my own incomprehension and curiosity about what was going on.
—Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2025
Take it as an opportunity to practice sitting with your incomprehension and curiosity.
—Esther K. Choy, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
Political polarization in this country is such that partisans look at each other with mutual incomprehension.
—Gary Langer, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for incomprehension
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incomprehension
misunderstanding
Noun
-
Shane Hubbard, a UW-Madison research scientist specializing in damage and loss estimation from disasters, said that misunderstandings of what type of insurance offers the most protection result in homeowners being left with hefty bills and little government assistance.—
Tamia Fowlkes,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Like the two previous installments, on Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez brothers, Ed Gein retells in lurid—and largely fantastical—detail the legend of a notorious murderer, with the aim of discerning what our collective obsession with and inevitable misunderstanding of each case says about society.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incomprehension.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incomprehension. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share