Synonyms of understands

understands

verb

present tense third-person singular of understand

1

as in derives

to form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information

as I understand it, this is the best plan that we have

Synonyms & Similar Words

• derives
• decides
• thinks
• concludes
• infers
• assumes
• deduces
• extrapolates
• reasons
• judges
• speculates
• guesses
• supposes
• ascertains
• reads
• gathers
• makes out
• interprets
• draws a conclusion
• contemplates
• surmises
• construes
• rationalizes
• philosophizes
• conjectures
• finds out
• dopes (out)

2

as in knows

to have a practical understanding of

I think I understand how an engine works now

Synonyms & Similar Words

• knows
• comprehends
• grasps
• appreciates
• possesses
• perceives
• apprehends
• follows
• cognizes
• has
• kens
• savvies
• fathoms
• catches on (to)
• picks up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• misunderstands
• misinterprets
• misconceives
• misapprehends
• misperceives
• misknows

3

as in recognizes

to have a clear idea of

after a few weeks in Russia I began to understand the language a little bit

Synonyms & Similar Words

• knows
• recognizes
• comprehends
• appreciates
• sees
• deciphers
• grasps
• realizes
• perceives
• discerns
• gets
• conceives
• senses
• intuits
• apprehends
• makes
• beholds
• assimilates
• decodes
• cognizes
• seizes
• registers
• tumbles (to)
• digs
• groks
• makes out
• catches on (to)
• catches
• twigs
• absorbs
• picks up on
• savvies
• cottons (to or on to)
• compasses
• digests
• penetrates
• takes in
• pierces
• fathoms

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• misses
• misunderstands
• misinterprets
• mistakes
• misreads
• misconstrues
• misconceives
• misapprehends
• misperceives

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of understands

Deadline understands that a number of executives in its unscripted casting and development teams have been impacted by the cuts. — Peter White, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Jasper, in Chicago, understands the risk of silencing those hunger cues. — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026

Glenn Close, speaking in Spanish, later arrives briefly as an American literary historian who understands the importance of Alberto’s discoveries. — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Variety understands that Mediawan paid on the lower end of tens of millions of dollars, although Capton declined to disclose the exact figure or financial terms. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

In this case, learning does not mean that the device understands information or independently solves problems. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026

Give Teams Context Alongside The Numbers Financial leaders should provide context, not another dashboard full of blinking numbers nobody understands. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Teplinsky understands this can be a trickier risk factor to avoid completely. — Norah O'Donnell, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Niccol worked at Yum for more than a decade and understands that scale matters in razor-thin restaurant margins. — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026