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Meaning of APPREHEND

Pronunciation:  `apri'hend

 
WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. [v]  get the meaning of something; "Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?"
  2. [v]  take into custody, as of suspected criminals, by the police
  3. [v]  anticipate with dread or anxiety
 

APPREHEND is a 9 letter word that starts with A.

 

 Synonyms: arrest, collar, compass, comprehend, cop, dig, get the picture, grasp, nab, nail, pick up, quail at, savvy
 
 See Also: anticipate, catch on, clutch, cotton on, digest, dread, fear, figure, get it, get onto, intuit, latch on, look for, look to, prehend, seize, tumble, twig, understand

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. \Ap`pre*hend"\ ([a^]p`pr[-e]*h[e^]nd"), v. t. [imp. &
    p. p. {Apprehended}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Apprehending}.] [L.
    apprehendere; ad + prehendere to lay hold of, seize; prae
    before + -hendere (used only in comp.); akin to Gr.
    chanda`nein to hold, contain, and E. get: cf. F.
    appr['e]hender. See {Prehensile}, {Get}.]
    1. To take or seize; to take hold of. [Archaic]
             We have two hands to apprehend it.    --Jer. Taylor.
    2. Hence: To take or seize (a person) by legal process; to
       arrest; as, to apprehend a criminal.
    3. To take hold of with the understanding, that is, to
       conceive in the mind; to become cognizant of; to
       understand; to recognize; to consider.
             This suspicion of Earl Reimund, though at first but
             a buzz, soon got a sting in the king's head, and he
             violently apprehended it.             --Fuller.
             The eternal laws, such as the heroic age apprehended
             them.                                 --Gladstone.
    4. To know or learn with certainty. [Obs.]
             G. You are too much distrustful of my truth. E. Then
             you must give me leave to apprehend The means and
             manner how.                           --Beau. & Fl.
    5. To anticipate; esp., to anticipate with anxiety, dread, or
       fear; to fear.
             The opposition had more reason than the king to
             apprehend violence.                   --Macaulay.
    Syn: To catch; seize; arrest; detain; capture; conceive;
         understand; imagine; believe; fear; dread.
    Usage: To {Apprehend}, {Comprehend}. These words come into
           comparison as describing acts of the mind. Apprehend
           denotes the laying hold of a thing mentally, so as to
           understand it clearly, at least in part. Comprehend
           denotes the embracing or understanding it in all its
           compass and extent. We may apprehended many truths
           which we do not comprehend. The very idea of God
           supposes that he may be apprehended, though not
           comprehended, by rational beings. ``We may apprehended
           much of Shakespeare's aim and intention in the
           character of Hamlet or King Lear; but few will claim
           that they have comprehended all that is embraced in
           these characters.'' --Trench.
    
  2. \Ap`pre*hend"\, v. i.
    1. To think, believe, or be of opinion; to understand; to
       suppose.
    2. To be apprehensive; to fear.
             It is worse to apprehend than to suffer. --Rowe.
    
 
Thesaurus Terms
 
 Related Terms: absorb, accept, anticipate, appreciate, arrest, assimilate, be acquainted with, be afraid, be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, be conversant with, be informed, be sensible of, be with one, bode, bust, capture, catch, catch on, cognize, collar, compass, comprehend, conceive, conceptualize, cotton to, croak, detain, dig, digest, discern, divine, dread, experience, eye askance, fathom, fear, feel, follow, forebode, foreknow, forewarn, get, get hold of, get the drift, get the idea, get the picture, grab, grasp, have, have a premonition, have a presentiment, have information about, have it taped, have knowledge of, have qualms, hear, ken, know, learn, look black, lower, make an arrest, make out, master, menace, misgive, nab, net, penetrate, perceive, pick up, pinch, portend, possess, preapprehend, prehend, prevision, pull in, put under arrest, read, realize, recognize, respond, respond to stimuli, run in, savvy, see, seize, seize the meaning, sense, sit upon thorns, smell, stand aghast, take, take captive, take in, take into custody, take prisoner, taste, threaten, touch, tumble to, twig, understand, visualize, warn, wot, wot of
 

 

 

 

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