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
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"
Synonyms
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
Perishable publications Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
And blacks like scraps of carbon paper This obsessive recalibration, typical of McCrae’s work, uses language to explore language’s limits, insisting that words can do no more than approximate a place beyond our comprehension: poetry as the pain scale.
—Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
The big picture: The improvements come despite record-low national reading comprehension scores, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called the Nation's Report Card.
—Chelsea Brasted, Axios, 31 Jan. 2025
Pochettino will be pleased with the side’s effort and comprehension of his ideas.
—Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for comprehension 
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Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
And blacks like scraps of carbon paper This obsessive recalibration, typical of McCrae’s work, uses language to explore language’s limits, insisting that words can do no more than approximate a place beyond our comprehension: poetry as the pain scale.
—Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
The big picture: The improvements come despite record-low national reading comprehension scores, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called the Nation's Report Card.
—Chelsea Brasted, Axios, 31 Jan. 2025
Pochettino will be pleased with the side’s effort and comprehension of his ideas.
—Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for comprehension
Dictionary Entries Near comprehension
Cite this Entry
“Comprehension.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprehension. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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