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:
“There is no privileged access to understanding its direction. You need to look through as many windows as possible. We humans are limited and exhausted and can’t comprehend the world in its fullness.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
“It is difficult to comprehend how much this young coyote endured over the course of the past year,” Wildlife Care of SoCal wrote in an update Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
At first, she struggled to comprehend the danger.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
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
Many an evening I have worked over them—we all did something of the kind—but that has become so unreal to me I cannot comprehend it any more.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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
He will have to live with what he has done forever and I hope one day, he truly comprehends the pain his actions have caused.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 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
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 don't think we really comprehended that at the time.”
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2024
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
“Higher capacity is required for complex transactions like contracts, which require not just grasping the immediate exchange, but also comprehending finer details, consequences and the broader context.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
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 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
Amari replied with a nod, not exactly understanding what Polly had said but comprehending the idea.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
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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