Synonym Chooser

How is the word understand distinct from other similar verbs?

The words appreciate and comprehend are common synonyms of understand. While all three words mean "to have a clear or complete idea of," understand and comprehend are very often interchangeable, with understand sometimes stressing the fact of having attained a firm mental grasp of something.

orders that were fully understood and promptly obeyed

When is it sensible to use appreciate instead of understand?

The synonyms appreciate and understand are sometimes interchangeable, but appreciate implies a just evaluation or judgment of a thing's value or nature.

failed to appreciate the risks involved

Where would comprehend be a reasonable alternative to understand?

Although the words comprehend and understand have much in common, comprehend may stress the process of coming to grips with something intellectually.

I have trouble comprehending your reasons for doing this

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 understand Each branch employs technicians who understand the pests most common in their region, scorpions in the Southwest, ticks in the Midwest, or termites in the Southeast. Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025 Nonetheless, the book has complicated historians' efforts to understand the truth of what really happened during this pivotal moment in the history of science. Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025 Now, the Avenger wreck is one focal point for scientists in a cutting-edge endeavor to understand whether traces of decades-old DNA can be preserved and detected at wreck sites. Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025 Deadline understands that Newman, who was Head of Original Sports Content for Prime Video and before that was Co-Head of Movies, is moving to Amazon’s AI Studios division as Head of Live Action. Peter White, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for understand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for understand
Verb
  • The employees are all members of a union local known as University Professional Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America 9119.
    Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The account was not guarded by an extra layer of security known as multi-factor authentication.
    Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The group, mainly millennials and young Gen Xers, grew up in the internet era and recognize how technology can switch up the status quo.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Still, this technology requires careful attention to bias by ensuring AI agents recognize diverse communication patterns fairly and accurately, rather than embedding harmful assumptions.
    Rachel Curry, CNBC, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Part of this growing divide between the rich and the average worker can also be traced back to where these households derive their wealth—namely from their exposure to the booming stock market of 2025.
    Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 10 Nov. 2025
  • The brand’s very name, derived from a Sanskrit word, encapsulates Ghiya’s internationalism.
    Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • Watching the song’s polarizing music video, which uses digital trickery to reunite the surviving Beatles with their late mates, projected behind McCartney and his band on a massive screen is trippy, and hard for the brain to comprehend.
    Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Their job was to transmit secure battlefield communications that the enemy could not decipher.
    Tim Trudell, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
  • While expeditions in the early 1990s deciphered crucial insights into the ship’s final moments, one expedition drew sharp criticism after a crewman’s body was found.
    Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Last year, the new group of commissioners decided to bring back Nadine Jarmon as the housing authority's executive director.
    Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2025
  • El Dorado County voters also decided three Zone of Benefit tax measures on Tuesday.
    Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • That’s an admission that Flyers fans should probably appreciate.
    Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Amazingly, Exposure contestants go through hours of practice and performance each day without ever seeming to tire, and along with the competitive spirit, there’s a real sense of community, with skaters constantly encouraging, applauding, and appreciating each other.
    Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, and Rice University, the work could reshape how scientists think about pollution cleanup by looking closer at the tiniest details hidden in common minerals.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Adam Green, cofounder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, an influential left-leaning group, said Newsom has not set himself apart as someone average Americans think of as the authentic messenger who connects with a more positive vision for working people.
    Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Understand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/understand. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

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