comprehend
Usage
What are other ways to say comprehend?
To comprehend is to know something thoroughly and to perceive its relationships to certain other ideas, facts, etc. To know is to be aware of something as a fact or truth: He knows the basic facts of the subject. I know that he agrees with me. To understand is to be fully aware not only of the meaning of something but also of its implications: I could comprehend all he said, but did not understand that he was joking.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Hard as it may seem now to comprehend, some people developed healthier relationships with others and had a stronger sense of their own place in the world.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Nine-year-old Sebastian paints a portrait of his family home, unable to comprehend that it no longer exists after the powerful quake that shattered western Colombia this week.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Wales' own golden girl now has, but the rider herself would not comprehend the comparisons.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
We “can read the language of DNA,” he grants, but “we cannot yet speak it, nor fully comprehend it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
There was a part of her that sometimes couldn’t quite comprehend how things could just be gone.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
College Football Brain is why we still have Zombie Bowl games layered on top of this 12-team playoff, as if anyone actually cares or comprehends why the quarterfinal needs to masquerade as the Cotton Bowl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
Lewis came up with an approach and strategy that showed that she, at least, is an American who now comprehends the true dynamics that yield success in these matches.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2024
They communicate verbally and also, often in games, only with a nod or a look that the other instantly comprehends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2024
“I don’t think she comprehends the breadth and depth of the suffering she has caused,” a tearful Ruetten said.
From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024
He comprehends it, being a man full grown, able to oversee the kind of house Zeus would endow with honor.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Manjusri, with a calm smile, gently raises his hand to counter that the true nonmaterial essence of the Buddha can never be comprehended before transcending the material world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Online discourse about any show ignites an array of interpretations concerning the producers’ choices, along with revealing who comprehended King’s overarching messages concerning fear.
From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2025
"I don't think 13-year-old me could have comprehended what I'm feeling now."
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2023
But then you haven’t comprehended the significance of either the zoo or the lion.
From Slate ● Dec. 24, 2022
But none of them, may I say, has fully comprehended the reasons for the attitude France has adopted towards her neighbour.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
And once comprehending, shall he go with the flow?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
Yet as commander in chief, wisely comprehending that no war to save the Union could be waged, much less won, exclusively by Republicans, Lincoln sought out Democrats to help battle secession.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
The resulting data will certainly be of value for comprehending and conserving modern-day biodiversity.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2025
Clearly, traditional human media — our journals, books and articles — are wholly inadequate to the task of tracking, let alone comprehending, the exponential trajectory we are witnessing.
From Salon ● May 17, 2025
My comprehending, my believing the teachings of Mr. Muhammad had only required my mind’s saying to me, “That’s right!” or “I never thought of that.”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Vocabulary lists containing comprehend
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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List 4
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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