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.
They are concerned with justice, as far as they can comprehend its meaning from the stories George reads to them.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
"I always believe in forgiveness, but I cannot comprehend how such a selfish act should be forgiven," said his daughter Kate, adding her father's death "was completely avoidable."
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
When the Apollo program ended in 1972, we children couldn’t comprehend budget constraints or having bested our Soviet rivals in a long-running “space race.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
The exciting and the scary part of artificial intelligence is there are things the human brain will not be able to comprehend.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
For a man who had fought so long and hard for freedom, it is astonishing Washington could not comprehend that an enslaved person might want the same right.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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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