English verb: understand | |||
1. | understand (cognition) know and comprehend the nature or meaning of | ||
Samples | She did not understand her husband. I understand what she means. | ||
Examples | They won't understand the story , Sam and Sue understand the movie | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s. Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s somebody. Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | apprehend, bottom, catch, compass, comprehend, construe, dig, fathom, figure out, follow, get, get the picture, grasp, grok, interpret, interpret, lick, make out, penetrate, puzzle out, read, read, savvy, see, sense, solve, touch, translate, understand, work, work out | ||
2. | understand (cognition) perceive (an idea or situation) mentally | ||
Samples | Now I see!. I just can't see your point. Does she realize how important this decision is?. I don't understand the idea. | ||
Synonyms | realise, realize, see | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s. Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | appreciate, perceive, take account | ||
Verb group | envision, fancy, figure, image, picture, project, see, see, visualise, visualize | ||
3. | understand (cognition) make sense of a language | ||
Samples | She understands French. Can you read Greek?. | ||
Synonyms | interpret, read, translate | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s somebody. Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | understand | ||
4. | understand (cognition) believe to be the case | ||
Samples | I understand you have no previous experience?. | ||
Examples | They understand him to write the letter | ||
Synonyms | infer | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s that CLAUSE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | believe | ||
5. | understand (cognition) be understanding of | ||
Samples | You don't need to explain--I understand!. | ||
Synonyms | empathise, empathize, sympathise, sympathize | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s somebody | ||