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:
Wales' own golden girl now has, but the rider herself would not comprehend the comparisons.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Zidan said he still struggled to comprehend what had happened in the village.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
We “can read the language of DNA,” he grants, but “we cannot yet speak it, nor fully comprehend it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
We can comprehend 1 million, and even that 1 billion is one thousand millions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
I could comprehend the feeling, and share both its strength and truth.
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
I intellectually comprehended this rule, but living through it was another thing entirely.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
“The Argonauts” revolutionized the way queer family-making is written about, talked about and comprehended.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025
He told the inquiry he had been "frustrated" that some government officials had not "comprehended the figures".
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2023
Mrs Who’s spectacles shone out at them triumphantly, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
From "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle
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
In this respect, “Sinners” validates us, letting us know it’s OK to consider the notes playing within the surface melody and embrace the minor keys while comprehending that they sound ominous for a reason.
From Salon ● May 2, 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
Nor can you understand the complexities of computing—the nature of algorithms, or the storage or corruption of data—without comprehending the structural anatomy of digitized information.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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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