understanding
English · Thesaurus
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understanding¹
- /ʌndəˈstandɪŋ/ UK
- /ˌʌndɚˈstændɪŋ/ US
Rhymes with -ændɪŋ
Where it comes from
From Middle English understandinge, understondinge, from Old English understanding (“intelligence, understanding”), from Proto-West Germanic *undarstandingu, from Proto-Germanic *understandingō, equivalent to understand + -ing (gerund ending). Cognate with Middle Dutch onderstaninge, Middle Low German understandinge, Middle High German understandunge.
noun understandings
-
The act of one that understands or comprehends; the mental process of discernment of meaning.
There are certain things that defy human understanding.
Similar: comprehension
-
Reason or intelligence; ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge; ability to infer.
She has a solid understanding of particle physics.
Similar: comprehension, grasp
- Opinion, judgement, or outlook. It is the goneness of the Holocaust that produces the simultaneous profusion of discourses and understandings; the goneness is what opens up, what spurs, what unleashes the perpetual desire to do, to make, to rethink the Holocaust.
- An informal contract; a mutual agreement. I thought we had an understanding - you do the dishes, and I throw the trash.
- A reconciliation of differences. The parties of the negotiation have managed to come to an understanding.
- Sympathy. He showed much understanding for my problems when he heard about my past.
- Legs or feet. She had on a short petticoat that showed a […] considerable chunk of understandings.
understanding²
- /ʌndəˈstandɪŋ/ UK
- /ˌʌndɚˈstændɪŋ/ US
Rhymes with -ændɪŋ
Where it comes from
From Middle English understandyng, understondynge, understondinde, undirstondend, understandande, from Old English understandende, from Proto-West Germanic *undarstandandī, from Proto-Germanic *understandandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *understandaną (“to stand between, intercede, understand”), equivalent to understand + -ing (present participle ending).
adjective more understanding · most understanding
- Showing compassion, tolerance, and forbearance; sympathetically aware.
- Knowing; skilful.
verb
- present participle and gerund of understand It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […]; […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: intellect, discernment, reason, perceptive, sympathy, savvy, agreement, apprehension, knowing, know, informed, know-how, cognisance, knowledge, mind, intelligence
Translations
Every language
noun (''uncountable'') the mental process of discernment of meaning
| Español | entendimiento |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 이해 ihae, 요해 yohae |
| 日本語 | 理解 rikai, 了解 ryōkai, 分かり wakari |
| 中文 | 理解 lǐjiě, 了解 liǎojiě, 明白 míngbai |
| हिन्दी | समझ samajh, फ़हम faham, फहम phaham |
| Português | compreensão, entendimento |
| Français | compréhension |
| Deutsch | Verstehen, Verständnis, Begreifen |
| Italiano | comprensione |
| Ελληνικά | κατανόηση katanóisi |
| Română | comprehensiune |
| Русский | понима́ние ponimánije, разуме́ние razuménije |
| Tiếng Việt | sự hiểu |
| العربية | فَهْم fahm |
| עברית | הֲבָנָה havaná |
noun ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge, ability to infer
| Español | entendimiento |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | समझ samajh |
| Português | compreensão |
| Français | compréhension |
| Ελληνικά | κατανόηση katanóisi, νοημοσύνη noïmosýni |
| Русский | понима́ние ponimánije |
noun opinion, judgement or outlook
| Español | entendimiento |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | नज़र nazar |
| Português | entendimento |
| Deutsch | Verständnis |
| العربية | رُؤْيَة ruʔya |
noun informal contract, mutual agreement
| Español | entendimiento |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | masikizano |
| Português | entendimento |
| Deutsch | Vereinbarung |
| Ελληνικά | συνεννόηση synennóisi |
| Русский | взаимопонима́ние vzaimoponimánije, согла́сие soglásije |
| العربية | تَفَاهُم tafāhum |
noun reconciliation of differences
| Español | avenimiento |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Einigung |
| Ελληνικά | συνεννόηση synennóisi |
noun sympathy
| Español | entendimiento |
|---|---|
| Français | compréhension |
| Deutsch | Verständnis |
| Ελληνικά | κατανόηση katanóisi |
adj showing compassion
| Español | comprensivo, comprehensivo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 納得 nattoku |
| Português | compreensivo |
| Français | compréhensif |
| Deutsch | verständnisvoll |
| Română | înțelegător |
| العربية | فهم |
| עברית | מגלה הבנה m'galé/megalá havaná |
Talk about this word "understanding." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/understanding. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. understanding. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/understanding "understanding." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/understanding.Cite this
@misc{understanding_2026,
title = {understanding},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/understanding},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
