comprehension

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com·pre·hen·sion

(kŏm′prĭ-hĕn′shən)

a. The act or fact of grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of; understanding.

b. The knowledge that is acquired in this way.

2. Capacity to include; comprehensiveness.

3. Logic The sum of meanings and corresponding implications inherent in a term.

[Middle English comprehensioun, from Latin comprehēnsiō, comprehēnsiōn-, from comprehēnsus, past participle of comprehendere, to comprehend; see comprehend.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

comprehension

(ˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnʃən)

1. the act or capacity of understanding

2. the state of including or comprising something; comprehensiveness

3. (Education) education an exercise consisting of a previously unseen passage of text with related questions, designed to test a student's understanding esp of a foreign language

4. (Logic) logic obsolete the attributes implied by a given concept or term; connotation

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

com•pre•hen•sion

(ˌkɒm prɪˈhɛn ʃən)

n.

1. the act or process of comprehending.

2. the state of being comprehended.

3. capacity of the mind to perceive and understand; power to grasp ideas.

4. perception or understanding: mature comprehension of a difficult subject.

5. inclusion.

6. comprehensiveness.

[1400–50; late Middle English < Latin comprehēnsiō=comprehēnd(ere) to comprehend + -tiō -tion]

comprehension

– understanding

1. 'comprehension'

Both comprehension and understanding can be used to talk about someone's ability to understand something.

He noted Bond's apparent lack of comprehension.

The problems of solar navigation seem beyond comprehension.

A very narrow subject would have become too highly technical for general understanding.

2. 'understanding'

If you have an understanding of something, you have some knowledge of it, or you know how it works or what it means.

The past decade has seen huge advances in our general understanding of how the ear works.

The job requires an understanding of Spanish.

You cannot use comprehension with this meaning.

Understanding has another meaning. If there is understanding between people, they are friendly towards each other and trust each other.

What we need is greater understanding between management and workers.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	comprehension - an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result); "how you can do that is beyond my comprehension"; "he was famous for his comprehension of American literature" discernment, savvy, understanding, apprehension - the cognitive condition of someone who understands; "he has virtually no understanding of social cause and effect" incomprehension - an inability to understand; "his incomprehension of the consequences"
	2.	comprehension - the relation of comprising something; "he admired the inclusion of so many ideas in such a short work" inclusion involvement - a connection of inclusion or containment; "he escaped involvement in the accident"; "there was additional involvement of the liver and spleen"

comprehension

noun understanding, grasp, conception, realization, sense, knowledge, intelligence, judgment, perception, discernment The situation was utterly beyond her comprehension.
understanding misunderstanding, incomprehension, misapprehension, unawareness

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

comprehension

noun

Intellectual hold:

apprehension, grasp, grip, hold, understanding.

Informal: savvy.

Translations

إِدْراكفَهْم

porozumění

forståelse

Verständnis BegriffsvermögenSprachverstehen

κατανόηση

comprensión

ymmärtäminen

compréhension

shvaćanje

skilningur

comprensione

理解

이해

razumevanje

förståelse

ความเข้าใจ

anlamakavrama

sự hiểu

理解理解力

comprehension

[ˌkɒmprɪˈhenʃən]

A. N

1. (= understanding) → comprensión f
it is beyond comprehension → es incomprensible

2. (Scol) (= exercise) → prueba f de comprensión

B. CPD comprehension test N → test m de comprensión

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

comprehension

[ˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnʃ^ən] n

(= understanding) → compréhension f
to be beyond comprehension → dépasser la compréhension, dépasser l'entendement

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

comprehension

(= understanding) → Verständnis nt; (= ability to understand) → Begriffsvermögen nt; that is beyond my comprehension → das übersteigt mein Begriffsvermögen; (behaviour) → das ist mir unbegreiflich

(= inclusion) → Aufnahme f

(= school exercise) → Fragen pl → zum Textverständnis

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

comprehension

[ˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnʃ/ən] n (understanding) → comprensione f (Scol) → esercizio di comprensione

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

comprehend

(kompriˈhend) verb

1. to understand.

2. to include.

ˌcompreˈhensible adjective

capable of being understood.

ˌcompreˈhension (-ʃən) noun

the act or power of understanding. After reading the passage the teacher asked questions to test the children's comprehension.

ˈcompreˈhensive (-siv) adjective

including many things. The school curriculum is very comprehensive.

ˌcompreˈhensively adverb

ˌcompreˈhensiveness noun

comprehensive school

one that provides education for children of all abilities.

comprehension

→ إِدْراك porozumění forståelse Begriffsvermögen κατανόηση comprensión ymmärtäminen compréhension shvaćanje comprensione 理解 이해 begrip oppfatning zrozumienie compreensão понимание förståelse ความเข้าใจ anlama sự hiểu 理解

com·pre·hen·sion

n. comprensión.

References in classic literature ?

'There was a man, there was a woman,' he seemed to say, and he stood up to the task of comprehension with the delight of an artist in his art.

View in context

Perhaps, in Jerry's brain, the rising into the foreground of consciousness of an image of a log awash connoted more intimate and fuller comprehension of the thing being thought about, than did the word "crocodile," and its accompanying image, in the foreground of a human's consciousness.

View in context

What could be meant by such unsteady conduct, what her friend could be at, was beyond her comprehension. Isabella could not be aware of the pain she was inflicting; but it was a degree of wilful thoughtlessness which Catherine could not but resent.

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He gave me a Southern smile and shrug of comprehension, as one acquainted with affairs of the heart,--which was a relief after the cockney tramp's impudent expression of, no doubt, a precisely similar sentiment.

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As to the 52-foot linear raters, praised so much by the writer, I am warmed up by his approval of their performances; but, as far as any clear conception goes, the descriptive phrase, so precise to the comprehension of a yachtsman, evokes no definite image in my mind.

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He was not, like most of them, ignorant of kindred arts, and his taste for music and literature gave depth and variety to his comprehension of painting.

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The higher the human intellect rises in the discovery of these purposes, the more obvious it becomes, that the ultimate purpose is beyond our comprehension.

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I nodded comprehension of his statement, and acquiescence in it, as a man should nod who knows all about men.

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We accept them as facts, but we are left without sympathetic comprehension of them.

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He always attributed to his critics a more profound comprehension than he had himself, and always expected from them something he did not himself see in the picture.

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Knightley connected it with the dream; but how it could all be, was beyond his comprehension. How the delicacy, the discretion of his favourite could have been so lain asleep!

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To Madame Ratignolle he said the music dispensed at her soirees was too "heavy," too far beyond his untrained comprehension. His excuse flattered her.