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:
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
Moves like that make it easy to comprehend that his ill-fated meanders could have been avoided if he’d followed the same directions that got everyone else home sooner.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
To avoid a war over Taiwan and the South and East China seas, we need to comprehend what happened in Europe a little more than a century ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
We can comprehend 1 million, and even that 1 billion is one thousand millions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Some time elapsed before, with all my efforts, I could comprehend my scholars and their nature.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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
Knox comprehends how knotty the process of reconciling with an ending that differs from what we want can be.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2025
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 intellectually comprehended this rule, but living through it was another thing entirely.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
“I could have never comprehended such a perfect opportunity to align with my goals as an artist and future arts leader and an arts advocate.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025
For a while, we sat in the car in the darkness, trying to comprehend what could not be comprehended even after all these years.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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
"The public... has no way of comprehending the artist's work, which raises questions over our whole mission of public service," Ms des Cars said.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2025
Jennifer stared at Deidre as if not quite comprehending what she was saying.
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
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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