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Definitions

understand

[uhn-der-stand] / ˌʌn dərˈstænd /




Usage

What are other ways to say understand? 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. 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 comprehend is to know something thoroughly and to perceive its relationships to certain other ideas, facts, etc. 

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:

But the ambitious young women who adore them don’t really understand them.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 31, 2026

I understand where she’s coming from, but I can’t help feeling like it’s a bit ridiculous to essentially require an $80 cover charge for your birthday party.

From MarketWatch Aug. 31, 2026

Determining what the LCA looked like and how it moved could help researchers understand the evolutionary steps that eventually produced habitual bipedalism, a form of movement practiced regularly only by humans.

From Science Daily Aug. 31, 2026

Dahlia Lithwick: Now that all of Gorsuch’s votes for the term are in and logged, do you feel as if you basically still understand who he is as a justice, Susan?

From Slate Aug. 31, 2026

He’d never remembered that moment of kindness, for he’d been too close to death to understand what was happening.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

BBC Newsbeat understands there's been high demand for the new campsite and a dedicated "quiet zone", introduced in previous years but rebranded in 2026 as "The Oasis".

From BBC Aug. 28, 2026

There’s Olive, 12, from Charlotte, North Carolina, whose goal is to sell 8,000 boxes and who already possesses the polished ease of someone who understands how to speak to an audience.

From Salon Aug. 28, 2026

Gudrún Geirsdóttir, a professor of higher education at the University of Iceland, said she understands the concerns of the fishing and agriculture industries but believes Iceland would benefit from exploring EU membership.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 28, 2026

“I don’t have a great sense of whether he understands how much the market is craving that kind of information.”

From MarketWatch Aug. 27, 2026

I wonder if she understands that “some camp” probably means her grandmother’s sister is dead.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Then there is the question of their new U.K. home, which the couple is understood to have already found—and which they will be funding privately, without any subsidies from the royal family.

From MarketWatch Aug. 31, 2026

Some scientific surprises emerge not from discovering something entirely new, but from taking a closer look at something researchers thought they already understood.

From Science Daily Aug. 31, 2026

That has long been understood to mean subject to the laws of the United States, which of course the children of temporary visitors and even undocumented immigrants are.

From Slate Aug. 31, 2026

It is understood extra capacity will also be created by immediately beginning work to create new cells in existing prisons.

From BBC Aug. 30, 2026

For the first time Jonah actually kind of understood that viewpoint.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

But experts often look to southern hemisphere countries, like Australia and New Zealand, to gain a better understanding of how the UK could be affected.

From BBC Aug. 31, 2026

Her songs were a window to her inveterate optimism, love of her home territory, faith in God and people, and empathetic understanding of human nature.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 31, 2026

Whether they choose to buy a home or rent a house, the understanding is that they will be paying for it entirely out of pocket.

From MarketWatch Aug. 31, 2026

"Arboreality is fundamental to understanding primates - including ourselves - because it has shaped our body to a large degree: hands and feet, wrists and ankles, nails instead of claws, etc.,"

From Science Daily Aug. 31, 2026

It’s when she says that, that a new understanding of my reality creeps into place — one that I know Dad wouldn’t want me to know about.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam




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