| understanding |
| 1. n. Mental, sometimes emotional process of comprehension, assimilation of knowledge, which is subjective by its nature. | |
| 2. n. Reason or intelligence, ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge, ability to infer. | |
| 3. n. Opinion, judgement or outlook. | |
| According to my understanding, the situation is quite perilous. I wonder if you see it this way, too. | |
| 4. n. An informal contract; mutual agreement. | |
| I thought we had an understanding - you do the dishes, and I throw the trash. | |
| 5. n. A reconciliation of differences. | |
| The parties of the negotiation have managed to come to an understanding. | |
| 6. n. Sympathy. | |
| He showed much understanding for my problems when he heard about my past. | |
| 7. adj. Showing compassion. | |
| 8. adj. (dated) Knowing; skilful. | |
| 9. v. present participle of understand | |
| understand |
| 1. v. To be aware of the meaning of. | |
| I understand German. | |
| I received your note, but I did not understand it. | |
| 2. v. To believe, based on information. | |
| I understand that you have information for me. | |
| 3. v. To impute meaning, character etc. that is not explicitly stated. | |
| But we cannot disappoint Grandma and Grandpa Smith, and that is what family is all about! Do you understand?! | |
| In this sense, the word is usually used in the past participle: | |
| In the imperative mood, the word “you” is usually understood. | |
| 4. v. (obsolete, rare, humorous) To stand under; to support. | |
| 5. v. (circus, acrobatics) One who supports others in such performances as the human pyramid. | |
