comprehension

noun

com·​pre·​hen·​sion ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-shən 

-prē-

1

a

: the act or action of grasping with the intellect : understanding

children who have difficulty with comprehension of spoken language

What the artist actually needs is comprehension of his aims and ideals by men he respects …

—H. L. Mencken

b

: knowledge gained by comprehending

tests that measure the students' comprehension in math

She carried on with full comprehension of the risk involved.

c

: the capacity for understanding fully

mysteries that are beyond our comprehension

The war caused suffering beyond comprehension.

2

a

: the act or process of comprising

the comprehension of all the denominations into one Church

b

: the faculty or capability of including : comprehensiveness

the broad comprehension of the word "animal"

3

: connotation sense 3

Synonyms

• appreciation
• apprehension
• grasp
• grip
• hold
• perception
• percipience
• understanding

Examples of comprehension in a Sentence

The students showed excellent reading comprehension.

the president's comprehension of the current situation in the Middle East

Recent Examples on the Web

This is better for viewers who can hear, need comprehension help or have English as a second language. —Toby Wong, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024

The Anthropic group showed two expert models excerpts from a science fiction story, then asked comprehension questions. —Stephen Ornes, Quanta Magazine, 8 Nov. 2024

But some educators and experts are also raising concern that pleasure reading shouldn’t fall at the sword of rigorous phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction. —Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2024

Those with such disabilities typically struggle with a range of social and spatial skills, including reading comprehension and fine motor skills, according to the NVLD Project. —Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin comprehension-, comprehensio, from comprehendere to understand, comprise

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing comprehension

• beyond comprehension
• beyond comprehension/understanding
• beyond one's comprehension

Kids Definition

comprehension

noun

com·​pre·​hen·​sion ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen-chən 

1

: the act of comprehending

2

: knowledge gained by comprehending

3

: the capacity for understanding