| / English Dictionary |
UNDERSTANDING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination
Example:
we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil
Synonyms:
intellect; reason; understanding
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("understanding" is a kind of...):
faculty; mental faculty; module (one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The cognitive condition of someone who understands
Example:
he has virtually no understanding of social cause and effect
Synonyms:
apprehension; discernment; savvy; understanding
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("understanding" is a kind of...):
knowing (a clear and certain mental apprehension)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "understanding"):
comprehension (an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result))
self-knowledge (an understanding of yourself and your goals and abilities)
smattering (a slight or superficial understanding of a subject)
appreciation; grasp; hold (understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something)
grasping (understanding with difficulty)
hindsight (understanding the nature of an event after it has happened)
brainstorm; brainwave; insight (the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation)
realisation; realization; recognition (coming to understand something clearly and distinctly)
Derivation:
understand (know and comprehend the nature or meaning of)
understand (perceive (an idea or situation) mentally)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion
Example:
I knew I could count on his understanding
Synonyms:
sympathy; understanding
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("understanding" is a kind of...):
disposition; inclination; tendency (an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others)
Derivation:
understand (be understanding of)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises
Example:
there was an understanding between management and the workers
Synonyms:
agreement; understanding
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("understanding" is a kind of...):
statement (a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc)
Meronyms (parts of "understanding"):
condition; strings; term ((usually plural) a statement of what is required as part of an agreement)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "understanding"):
suicide pact (an agreement by two or more people to commit suicide together at a given place and time)
severance agreement (an agreement on the terms on which an employee will leave)
settlement (a conclusive resolution of a matter and disposition of it)
reservation (the written record or promise of an arrangement by which accommodations are secured in advance)
oral contract (an agreement that is not in writing and is not signed by the parties but is a real existing contract that lacks only the formal requirement of a memorandum to render it enforceable in litigation)
entente; entente cordiale (a friendly understanding between political powers)
submission (an agreement between parties in a dispute to abide by the decision of an arbiter)
written agreement (a legal document summarizing the agreement between parties)
gentlemen's agreement (a personal agreement based on honor and not legally binding)
working agreement (an informal agreement to work together)
bargain; deal (an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each)
sale; sales agreement (an agreement (or contract) in which property is transferred from the seller (vendor) to the buyer (vendee) for a fixed price in money (paid or agreed to be paid by the buyer))
unilateral contract (a one-sided agreement whereby you promise to do (or refrain from doing) something in return for a performance (not a promise))
covenant ((Bible) an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return)
fair-trade agreement (an agreement (illegal in the United States) between the manufacturer of a trademarked item of merchandise and its retail distributors to sell the item at a price at or above the price set by the manufacturer)
confederacy; conspiracy (a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Characterized by understanding based on comprehension and discernment and empathy
Example:
an understanding friend
Classified under:
Similar:
perceptive (having the ability to perceive or understand; keen in discernment)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb understand
Context examples:
If you would kindly put the matter a little more clearly there would be some possibility of my understanding you.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The branch of psychobiology that tries to understand cognitive functioning, including intellectual, memory, and related neurocognitive processes, by understanding the way that genes, proteins, and molecules interact.
(Molecular Psychobiology, NCI Thesaurus)
Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) Family/Social Well-Being: My family has trouble understanding when my condition gets worse.
(FAMS - Family Has Trouble Understanding When My Condition Gets Worse, NCI Thesaurus)
I shall know better in time; and believe me that, though I am not ungrateful now, my gratitude will grow with my understanding.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
"Because of the way of the white man, which is without understanding and never twice the same."
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
His understanding was good, and his education had given it solid improvement.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
The branch of pharmacology that tries to understand drug effects by understanding the way that receptors interact with proteins and other molecules in signal transduction.
(Molecular Receptor Pharmacology, NCI Thesaurus)
At present, they and I have a difficulty in understanding each other's language.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The branch of neurobiology that tries to understand the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the nervous system by understanding the way that genes, proteins, and molecules interact.
(Molecular Neurobiology, NCI Thesaurus)
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