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:
Zidan said he still struggled to comprehend what had happened in the village.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 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
He added he would "never be able to comprehend" why Baroness Lawrence had decided to "turn on" the Daily Mail, which campaigned on the Lawrence family's behalf.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
We can comprehend 1 million, and even that 1 billion is one thousand millions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Still, we feel we must comprehend intellectually what we perceive intuitively.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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
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
She comprehends the win-win dynamic of a dual hosting model, especially when the other host is a professional comic.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023
But also he would have understood the other part, which I don’t think even Mercer comprehends.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
I intellectually comprehended this rule, but living through it was another thing entirely.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
He told the inquiry he had been "frustrated" that some government officials had not "comprehended the figures".
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2023
Whether he survived Nandor's wrath became less important than whether Guillermo fully understood what he professed to desire most and whether Nandor comprehended how essential Guillermo is to his well-being.
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2023
I am generally aware of trends, but had not comprehended that a toy for babies, a demographic I think of as rather static, would go out of style.
From New York Times ● Dec. 23, 2022
Like the simplest of human tools—hammer, scythe, bellows, ladder, scissors—the function of the molecule can be entirely comprehended from its structure.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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
"They can't remember what things are called, can't finish a sentence, have trouble comprehending a text."
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
The trick to figuring out the truth is accepting nothing at face value and comprehending that what we imagined for ourselves may not be preferable to what’s right in front of us.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2025
I found one and tried to haul myself up, only now truly comprehending the size of these trees.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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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