Comprehension

//ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A thorough understanding. countable, uncountable

    "Students will be tested on their comprehension of sentences in the foreign language."

  2. 2
    an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result) wordnet
  3. 3
    The totality of intensions, that is, attributes, characters, marks, properties, or qualities, that the object possesses, or else the totality of intensions that are pertinent to the context of a given discussion. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    the relation of comprising something wordnet
  5. 5
    A compact syntax for generating a collection in some programming languages, traditionally lists in functional programming languages. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    The inclusion of nonconformists within the Church of England. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    Reading comprehension. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
inclusionunderstandingadmissibilityadmissionappreciationapprehension

Example

More examples

"Each chapter in the textbook is followed by about a dozen comprehension questions."

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French compréhension, from Latin comprehensiō (“taking together”), from com- (“with, together”) + prehendō (“take”).

Related phrases

listening comprehensionreading comprehensionchurch of englandfunctional programming

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.