Interpret and Understand

Interpret

Interpret verb - Make sense of; assign a meaning to.
Usage example: How do you interpret his behavior?

Understand is a synonym for interpret in take topic. In some cases you can use "Understand" instead a verb "Interpret", when it comes to topics like language, comprehend, explain, define. popular alternative

Understand

Understand verb - To form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information.
Usage example: as I understand it, this is the best plan that we have

Interpret is a synonym for understand in comprehend topic. You can use "Interpret" instead a verb "Understand", if it concerns topics such as appreciate, language, explain, interpretation. popular alternative

Common collocations

love interpret love understand love
word interpret word understand word
culture interpret culture understand culture
plot interpret plot understand plot
Other words: situation, way, world, story, language, words, actions, meaning, feelings, lyrics.

Both words in one sentence

  • Western Animation / The Care Bears Movie Voice for the Voiceless: Friend Bear for the always silent Secret Bear; she's the only bear who can understand and interpret his body language, and the only one whom he usually whispers to.
  • While the official liturgic language is Finnish, the priests and clergy are required to know also Hebrew, Greek and Latin in order to be able to understand and interpret the original scriptures in the original languages.
  • Literature / Uplift Jijoan races wear symbiotes called rewqs on their eyes/faces to help them interpret and understand facial expressions and emotions of other species.
Cite this Source
Understand and Interpret. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/interpret/understand
Interpret & Understand. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/interpret/understand>.
Understand or Interpret. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/interpret/understand.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "interpret" and "understand" have occurred on timeline