v. i. 1. To think, believe, or be of opinion; to understand; to suppose. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be apprehensive; to fear. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is worse to apprehend than to suffer. Rowe. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Apprehended; p. pr. & vb. n. Apprehending. ] [ L. apprehendere; ad + prehendere to lay hold of, seize; prae before + -hendere (used only in comp.); akin to Gr. chanda`nein to hold, contain, and E. get: cf. F. appréhender. See Prehensile, Get. ] 1. To take or seize; to take hold of. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

We have two hands to apprehend it. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: To take or seize (a person) by legal process; to arrest; as, to apprehend a criminal. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To take hold of with the understanding, that is, to conceive in the mind; to become cognizant of; to understand; to recognize; to consider. [ 1913 Webster ]

This suspicion of Earl Reimund, though at first but a buzz, soon got a sting in the king's head, and he violently apprehended it. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

The eternal laws, such as the heroic age apprehended them. Gladstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To know or learn with certainty. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

G. You are too much distrustful of my truth.
E. Then you must give me leave to apprehend
The means and manner how. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To anticipate; esp., to anticipate with anxiety, dread, or fear; to fear. [ 1913 Webster ]

The opposition had more reason than the king to apprehend violence. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To catch; seize; arrest; detain; capture; conceive; understand; imagine; believe; fear; dread. -- To Apprehend, Comprehend. These words come into comparison as describing acts of the mind. Apprehend denotes the laying hold of a thing mentally, so as to understand it clearly, at least in part. Comprehend denotes the embracing or understanding it in all its compass and extent. We may apprehended many truths which we do not comprehend. The very idea of God supposes that he may be apprehended, though not comprehended, by rational beings. “We may apprehended much of Shakespeare's aim and intention in the character of Hamlet or King Lear; but few will claim that they have comprehended all that is embraced in these characters.” Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who apprehends. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being apprehensible. [ R. ] De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. apprehensibilis. See Apprehend. ] Capable of being apprehended or conceived. “Apprehensible by faith.” Bp. Hall. -- Ap`*pre*hen"si*bly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. [ L. apprehensio: cf. F. appréhension. See Apprehend. ] 1. The act of seizing or taking hold of; seizure; as, the hand is an organ of apprehension. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of seizing or taking by legal process; arrest; as, the felon, after his apprehension, escaped. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The act of grasping with the intellect; the contemplation of things, without affirming, denying, or passing any judgment; intellection; perception. [ 1913 Webster ]

Simple apprehension denotes no more than the soul's naked intellection of an object. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Opinion; conception; sentiment; idea. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In this sense, the word often denotes a belief, founded on sufficient evidence to give preponderation to the mind, but insufficient to induce certainty; as, in our apprehension, the facts prove the issue. [ 1913 Webster ]

To false, and to be thought false, is all one in respect of men, who act not according to truth, but apprehension. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The faculty by which ideas are conceived; understanding; as, a man of dull apprehension. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Anticipation, mostly of things unfavorable; distrust or fear at the prospect of future evil. [ 1913 Webster ]

After the death of his nephew Caligula, Claudius was in no small apprehension for his own life. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Apprehension, Alarm. Apprehension springs from a sense of danger when somewhat remote, but approaching; alarm arises from danger when announced as near at hand. Apprehension is calmer and more permanent; alarm is more agitating and transient. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. appréhensif. See Apprehend. ] 1. Capable of apprehending, or quick to do so; apt; discerning. [ 1913 Webster ]

It may be pardonable to imagine that a friend, a kind and apprehensive . . . friend, is listening to our talk. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Knowing; conscious; cognizant. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A man that has spent his younger years in vanity and folly, and is, by the grace of God, apprehensive of it. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Relating to the faculty of apprehension. [ 1913 Webster ]

Judgment . . . is implied in every apprehensive act. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Anticipative of something unfavorable' fearful of what may be coming; in dread of possible harm; in expectation of evil. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not at all apprehensive of evils as a distance. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Reformers . . . apprehensive for their lives. Gladstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Sensible; feeling; perceptive. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Thoughts, my tormentors, armed with deadly stings,
Mangle my apprehensive, tenderest parts. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an apprehensive manner; with apprehension of danger. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being apprehensive. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Comprehended; p. pr. & vb. n. Comprehending. ] [ L. comprehendere, comprehensum; com- + prehendere to grasp, seize; prae before + hendere (used only in comp.). See Get, and cf. Comprise. ] 1. To contain; to embrace; to include; as, the states comprehended in the Austrian Empire. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who hath . . . comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure. Is. xl. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To take in or include by construction or implication; to comprise; to imply. [ 1913 Webster ]

Comprehended all in this one word, Discretion. Hobbes. [ 1913 Webster ]

And if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying. Rom. xiii. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To take into the mind; to grasp with the understanding; to apprehend the meaning of; to understand. [ 1913 Webster ]

At a loss to comprehend the question. W. Irwing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Great things doeth he, which we can not comprehend. Job. xxxvii. 5.

Syn. -- To contain; include; embrace; comprise; inclose; grasp; embody; involve; imply; apprehend; imagine; conceive; understand. See Apprehend. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. able to be understood. Opposite of incomprehensible. [ Narrower terms: clear, distinct ] Also See: clear, explicable, fathomable, intelligible.
Syn. -- comprehensible. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The quality or state of being comprehensible; capability of being understood. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. comprehensibilis: cf. F. compreéhensible. ] 1. Capable of being comprehended, included, or comprised. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lest this part of knowledge should seem to any not comprehensible by axiom, we will set down some heads of it. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Capable of being understood; intelligible; conceivable by the mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

The horizon sets the bounds . . . between what is and what is not comprehensible by us. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being comprehensible; comprehensibility. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. With great extent of signification; comprehensively. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Intelligibly; in a manner to be comprehended or understood. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. comprehensio: cf. F. compréhension. ] 1. The act of comprehending, containing, or comprising; inclusion. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the Old Testament there is a close comprehension of the New; in the New, an open discovery of the Old. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is comprehended or inclosed within narrow limits; a summary; an epitome. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Though not a catalogue of fundamentals, yet . . . a comprehension of them. Chillingworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The capacity of the mind to perceive and understand; the power, act, or process of grasping with the intellect; perception; understanding; as, a comprehension of abstract principles. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Logic) The complement of attributes which make up the notion signified by a general term. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Rhet.) A figure by which the name of a whole is put for a part, or that of a part for a whole, or a definite number for an indefinite. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. compréhensif. ] 1. Including much; comprising many things; having a wide scope or a full view. [ 1913 Webster ]

A very comprehensive definition. Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

Large and comprehensive idea. Channing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having the power to comprehend or understand many things. “His comprehensive head.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) Possessing peculiarities that are characteristic of several diverse groups. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The term is applied chiefly to early fossil groups which have a combination of structures that appear in more fully developed or specialized forms in later groups. Synthetic, as used by Agassiz, is nearly synonymous.

Syn. -- Extensive; wide; large; full; compendious. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a comprehensive manner; with great extent of scope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being comprehensive; extensiveness of scope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Compare the beauty and comprehensiveness of legends on ancient coins. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who comprehends; one who has attained to a full knowledge. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

When I shall have dispatched this weary pilgrimage, and from a traveler shall come to be a comprehensor, farewell faith and welcome vision. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Deprehended; p. pr. & vb. n. Deprehending. ] [ L. deprehendere, deprehensum; de- + prehendere to lay hold of, seize. See Prehensile. ] 1. To take unawares or by surprise; to seize, as a person commiting an unlawful act; to catch; to apprehend. [ 1913 Webster ]

The deprehended adulteress.Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To detect; to discover; to find out. [ 1913 Webster ]

The motion . . . are to be deprehended by experience. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That may be caught or discovered; apprehensible. [ Obs. ] Petty.

-- Dep`re*hen"si*ble*ness, n. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

n. [ L. deprehensio. ] A catching; discovery. [ Obs. ] Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. inapprehensibilis: cf. F. inappréhensible. ] Not apprehensible; unintelligible; inconceivable. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Lack of apprehension. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Not apprehensive; regardless; unconcerned. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. incomprehensus. ] Incomprehensible. [ Obs. ] “Incomprehense in virtue.” Marston. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. incompréhensibilité. ] The quality of being incomprehensible, or beyond the reach of human intellect; incomprehensibleness; inconceivability; inexplicability. [ 1913 Webster ]

The constant, universal sense of all antiquity unanimously confessing an incomprehensibility in many of the articles of the Christian faith. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. incomprehensibilis: cf. F. incompréhensible. See In- not, and Comprehensible. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Not capable of being contained within limits. [ 1913 Webster ]

An infinite and incomprehensible substance. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not capable of being comprehended or understood; beyond the reach of the human intellect; inconceivable. [ 1913 Webster ]

And all her numbered stars that seem to roll
Spaces incomprehensible. Milton.

-- In*com`pre*hen"si*ble*ness, n. -- In*com`pre*hen"si*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Lack of comprehension or understanding. “These mazes and incomprehensions.” Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Not comprehensive; not capable of including or of understanding; not extensive; limited. -- In*com`pre*hen"sive*ly, a. Sir W. Hamilton. -- In*com`pre*hen"sive*ness, n. T. Warton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. indeprehensibilis. See In- not, and Deprehensible. ] Incapable of being found out. Bp. Morton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. irreprehensibilis: cf. F. irrépréhensible. See Reprehensible. ] Not reprehensible; blameless; innocent. -- Ir*rep`re*hen"si*ble*ness, n. -- Ir*rep`re*hen"si*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To take in a wrong sense; to misunderstand. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A mistaking or mistake; wrong apprehension of one's meaning of a fact; misconception; misunderstanding. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By, or with, misapprehension. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To get a wrong idea of or about; to misunderstand. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. not prehensile; as, cats have a nonprehensile tail. Opposite of prehensile. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. An apprehension or opinion formed before examination or knowledge. [ R. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. prehendere. See Prehensile. ] To lay hold of; to seize. [ Obs. ] Middleton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. préhensible. ] Capable of being seized. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. prehensus, p. p. of prehendere to lay hold of, seize; pre- (equiv. to prae before) + hendere (in comp.), akin to E. get: cf. F. préhensile. See Get, and cf. Prison, Prize, n. ] Adapted to seize or grasp; seizing; grasping; as, the prehensile tail of a monkey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. prehensio; cf. F. préhension. See Prehensile. ] The act of taking hold, seizing, or grasping, as with the hand or other member. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Adapted to seize or grasp; prehensile. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Reprehended; p. pr. & vb. n. Reprehending. ] [ L. reprehendere, reprehensum, to hold back, seize, check, blame; pref. re- re- + prehendere to lay hold of. See Prehensile, and cf. Reprisal. ] To reprove or reprimand with a view of restraining, checking, or preventing; to make charge of fault against; to disapprove of; to chide; to blame; to censure. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Aristippus being reprehended of luxury by one that was not rich, for that he gave six crowns for a small fish. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Pardon me for reprehending thee. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

In which satire human vices, ignorance, and errors . . . are severely reprehended. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

I nor advise nor reprehend the choice. J. Philips. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who reprehends. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. reprehensibilis: cf. F. répréhensible. ] Worthy of reprehension; culpable; censurable; blamable. -- Rep`re*hen"si*ble*ness, n. -- Rep`re*hen"si*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. reprehensio: cf. F. répréhension. ] Reproof; censure; blame; disapproval. [ 1913 Webster ]

This Basilius took as though his mistress had given him a secret reprehension that he had not showed more gratefulness to Dorus. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Censure; reproof; reprimand. See Admonition. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. répréhensif. ] Containing reprehension; conveying reproof. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Rep`re*hen"sive*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

a. Containing reproof; reprehensive; as, reprehensory complaint. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]