| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | understand |
| Synonyms: | appreciate, apprehend, assimilate, capiche, catch, click, cognize, conceive, dig*, discern, envisage, envision, fathom, get the picture, get*, gotcha, grasp, have, know, make out, perceive, read, savvy*, see, take in, tumble* |
| Antonyms: | misinterpret, mistake, misunderstand |
| Main Entry: | absorb |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | mentally take in information |
| Synonyms: | assimilate, comprehend, digest, follow, get, get into, grasp, incorporate, latch onto, learn, sense, soak up, take in, understand |
| Antonyms: | misunderstand, not get |
| Main Entry: | appreciate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | recognize worth |
| Synonyms: | acknowledge, apprehend, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, catch the drift, comprehend, dig, fathom, grasp, know, perceive, read, realize, recognize, savvy, see daylight, sympathize with, take account of, understand |
| Notes: | the use of 'appreciate' should involve valuing something or understanding it sympathetically, and when there is no value or sympathy, use 'recognize' or 'understand'; appreciate first meant 'set at a price; appraised' |
| Main Entry: | apprehend |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | understand |
| Synonyms: | absorb, accept, appreciate, believe, catch, comprehend, conceive, digest, fathom, get, get the picture, grasp, have, imagine, know, perceive, read, realize, recognize, sense, think |
| Antonyms: | misunderstand |
| Main Entry: | assimilate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | absorb mentally |
| Synonyms: | comprehend, digest, grasp, incorporate, ingest, learn, osmose, sense, soak up, take in, take up, understand |
| Antonyms: | misunderstand, reject, unlearn |
| Main Entry: | catch |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | hear and understand |
| Synonyms: | accept, apprehend, comprehend, discern, feel, follow, get, grasp, perceive, recognize, see, sense, take in, understand |
| Main Entry: | comprise |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make up, consist of |
| Synonyms: | add up to, amount to, be composed of, be contained in, compass, compose, comprehend, constitute, contain, cover, embody, embrace, encircle, enclose, encompass, engross, form, hold, include, incorporate, involve, span, subsume, sum up, take in |
| Notes: | compose is preferred when the parts of the whole being assembled are regarded as nonconcrete and more general; when the parts are concrete and specific, then constitute is more appropriate, and then there is comprise, which can mean 'comprehending or encompassing certain parts' comprise means literally 'embrace': a zoo comprises mammals, reptiles, and birds (because it 'embraces' or includes them), but animals do not comprise ('embrace') a zoo, they constitute a zoo |
| Antonyms: | except, exclude, fail, fall short, lack, need, want |
| Main Entry: | conceive |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | understand |
| Synonyms: | accept, appreciate, apprehend, assume, believe, catch, compass, comprehend, deem, dig, envisage, expect, fancy, feel, follow, gather, get, grasp, imagine, judge, perceive, realize, reckon, suppose, suspect, take, twig |
| Antonyms: | misunderstand, not believe |
| Main Entry: | contain |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | include, hold |
| Synonyms: | accommodate, be composed of, comprehend, comprise, consist of, embody, embrace, enclose, encompass, have, have capacity for, hold, incorporate, involve, seat, subsume, take in |
| Antonyms: | exclude |