Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for understand.
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.

But I also understand the rage of taxpayers who wonder why Los Angeles City Hall is so incapable of managing the basics.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

First you have to understand, I'm afraid, the labyrinth of Whitehall's process.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

To understand Somali food, you have to grind up a batch of xawaash, the first recipe in Ifrah F. Ahmed’s “Soomaaliya.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

That still leaves the question of whether investors rushing to buy the ETF understand exactly what they are getting.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

I could tell no one because it was too terrible, because no one would understand.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo




Vocabulary lists containing understand