apprehend

CEFRC2

/ˌæpɹɪˈhɛnd/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To catch and arrest someone.

  2. 02

    verb

    To understand an idea or situation.

Examples

  • I sometimes apprehend that there will be some difficulty.

  • The police expect to apprehend the robber before nightfall.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˌæpɹɪˈhend/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To acknowledge the existence of (something); to recognize.

  2. To take hold of (something) with understanding; to conceive (something) in the mind; to become cognizant of; to understand.

  3. To be or become aware of (something); to perceive.

More examples

In context

  • Officers apprehended the suspect two streets away from the bank.

  • […] Angel ſignifieth there, nothing but God himſelf, that cauſed Agar ſupernaturally to apprehend a voice from heaven; or rather, nothing elſe but a Voice ſupernaturall, teſtifying Gods ſpeciall preſence there.

  • O let my Lady apprehend no feare, / In all Cupids pageant there is preſented no monſter.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The police quickly moved to blank the suspect before he could escape through the back alley.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Late Middle English apprehenden (“to grasp, take hold of; to comprehend; to learn”), from Old French apprehender (modern French appréhender (“to apprehend; to catch; to dread”)), from Latin apprehendere, adprehendere, the present active infinitive of apprehendō, adprehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, take; to apprehend, arrest; to comprehend, understand; to embrace, include; to take possession of, obtain, secure”), from ap-, ad- (prefix meaning ‘to’) + prehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, snatch, take; to accost; to catch in the act, take by surprise; (figuratively, rare) of the mind: to apprehend, comprehend, grasp”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to hold, seize, take; to fin...