as in misunderstanding
a failure to understand correctly
the anthropologist's apparent incomprehension of the ceremonial rites she describes in her book surprised reviewers
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Recent Examples of incomprehension
The current queen is Hannah Neeleman, a homesteading mother of eight, who milks cows, bakes, dances, and takes part in beauty pageants, to the delight and incomprehension of her followers.
—
Sophie Elmhirst, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024
What remains is Menzies’s Lucas, a man in the eye of a maelstrom, initially mired in impassive incomprehension until a particularly brutal act shocks him into fury.
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2024
The look on Mann’s face effectively shows the incomprehension this horror demands.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 24 Jan. 2024
The death of John Mahoney, in 2018, robbed the revival of another beloved character, the Crane brothers’ proudly proletarian father; an audience surrogate, Martin regarded his sons with supercilious incomprehension from his lumpy recliner, beer in hand.
—Colin Marshall, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for incomprehension 
Sophie Elmhirst, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024
What remains is Menzies’s Lucas, a man in the eye of a maelstrom, initially mired in impassive incomprehension until a particularly brutal act shocks him into fury.
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2024
The look on Mann’s face effectively shows the incomprehension this horror demands.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 24 Jan. 2024
The death of John Mahoney, in 2018, robbed the revival of another beloved character, the Crane brothers’ proudly proletarian father; an audience surrogate, Martin regarded his sons with supercilious incomprehension from his lumpy recliner, beer in hand.
—Colin Marshall, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for incomprehension
Thesaurus Entries Near incomprehension
Cite this Entry
“Incomprehension.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incomprehension. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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