R E F E R E N C E S
Understand v.t. 1. to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend; to understand Spanish. 2. to be thoroughly familiar with; apprehend clearly the character, nature, or subtleties of; to understand a trade; to understand a poem. 3. to assign a meaning to; interpret: He understood her suggestion as a complaint. 4. to grasp the significance or importance of. 5. to regard as firmly communicated; take as agreed or settled: I understand that you will repay this loan in 30 days. 6. to learn or hear: I understand that you are going out of town. 7. to accept as true; believe. 8. to construe in a particular way: You are to understand the pharse literally. 9. to supply mentally [something that is not expressed]. -v.i. 10. to perceive what is meant; grasp the information conveyed. 11. to accept tolerantly or sympathetically: If you cannot do it, I will understand. 12. to have knowledge or background, as on a particular subject: He understands about boats. 13. to have a systematic interpretation or rationale, as in a field or area of knowledge.
-Syn. 1. See know.
Understanding n. 1. the mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation: his understanding is unequal to the task. My understanding of the word does not agree with yours. 2. intellectual faculties; intelligence; mind: a quick understanding. 3. superior power of discernment; enlightened intelligence. 4. knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something. 5. a state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations betwen people. 6. a mutal agreement, esp. of a private, unanounced, or tacit kind. 7. an agreement regulating joint activity or settling differences, often informal or preliminary in character. 8. Philos. the power of abstract thought ; logical power.
Understandable adj. capable of being understood; comprehensible.
Understood adj. 9. charactaerized by understanding; prompted by, based on, or demonstrating comprehension, intelligence, discernment, empathy, or the like.
[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House, 1968.]
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