as in misunderstanding
a failure to understand correctly
the anthropologist's apparent incomprehension of the ceremonial rites she describes in her book surprised reviewers
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Recent Examples of incomprehension
The story is the incomprehension on everyone’s face.
—
Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 11 May 2025
There is, equally, a certain childish hope that Vuong’s reader will approach him with the benevolent incomprehension of a maternal figure.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for incomprehension
Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 11 May 2025
There is, equally, a certain childish hope that Vuong’s reader will approach him with the benevolent incomprehension of a maternal figure.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for incomprehension
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incomprehension
misunderstanding
Noun
-
Pig myths and misunderstandings McLeod and Jennings are quick to dispel myths about their family of pigs.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
10 May 2026
-
Cabral said the permit issue with Beresford’s property is the result of a misunderstanding between the utility and the city of Huntington Beach.—
Claire Wang,
Oc Register,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incomprehension.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incomprehension. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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