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
“We just couldn’t comprehend the enormity of it. There was some comfort in watching it as a group. But not much.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Huang said that world models, which are designed to comprehend real-world physics, may still struggle to actually achieve that goal in three years.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
Nine-year-old Sebastian paints a portrait of his family home, unable to comprehend that it no longer exists after the powerful quake that shattered western Colombia this week.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
I waited, expecting he would say something I could at least comprehend; but his hand was now at his chin, his finger on his lip: he was thinking.
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
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
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
They are to be relished if not comprehended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
“I could have never comprehended such a perfect opportunity to align with my goals as an artist and future arts leader and an arts advocate.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025
"I don't think 13-year-old me could have comprehended what I'm feeling now."
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 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
The old man blinked for a moment and then comprehended, and cackled with laughter.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
"She's nonverbal, so we're not sure how much she is comprehending about what is going on at the moment," Lauer told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
“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
I stared, at first not comprehending at all.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
Vocabulary lists containing comprehend
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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