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
Neuroscientists have charted the mind’s incantation of words that lights up the temporal lobe, the frontal lobe, ridges in the cerebral cortex, triggering impulses that transform squiggles of ink into letters, letters to words, words to sentences and meaning and comprehension and empathy.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
The Best Time to Visit Yosemite National Park Stony Hill Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska
Alaska is a land of otherworldly beauty, but the views from Stony Hill Overlook nearly defy comprehension.
—Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for comprehension 
Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
The Best Time to Visit Yosemite National Park Stony Hill Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska
Alaska is a land of otherworldly beauty, but the views from Stony Hill Overlook nearly defy comprehension.
—Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for comprehension
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comprehension.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near comprehension
Cite this Entry
“Comprehension.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprehension. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.
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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