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:
It can also comprehend varying degrees of certainty.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
For England, leaving out those sorts of players is especially hard to comprehend because, for so long, the country didn’t have any.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
“The loss of so many young lives is difficult to comprehend, and our hearts go out to the victims’ families, friends, classmates, loved ones, and all those affected by this heartbreaking event,” police wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
"It's just struggling to comprehend how on earth this season has panned out in the way it has," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
I think you must know Hartfield enough to comprehend that.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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
The Smith family comprehends this in ways most don't.
From Salon ● Dec. 14, 2022
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
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
"I don't think 13-year-old me could have comprehended what I'm feeling now."
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2023
I am generally aware of trends, but had not comprehended that a toy for babies, a demographic I think of as rather static, would go out of style.
From New York Times ● Dec. 23, 2022
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
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
"They can't remember what things are called, can't finish a sentence, have trouble comprehending a text."
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
You don’t realize how complicated comprehending speech can be until your hearing abilities are compromised.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
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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List 4
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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