Construe Meaning
/kənˈstɹuː/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA translation.
nounAn interpretation.
Sentence Examples
They usefully managed to construe an efficient work ethic.
She could construe irregular Latin verbs without a moment's hesitation.
CEFR Practice Quiz
A judge must ____ the law strictly according to its original wording.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They usefully managed to ____ an efficient work ethic.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English construen, from Late Latin construo, construere (“to relate grammatically”), from Latin construo (“pile together”); doublet of construct.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Prayers and calling-over seemed twice as short as usual, and before they could get construes of a tithe of the hard passages marked in the margin of their books, they were all seated round, and the Doctor was standing in the middle, talking in whispers to the master."
— 1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days:
"Bru[tus]. […] But let not therefore my good Friends be greeu'd
(Among which number Cassius be you one)
Nor conſtrue any further my neglect,
Then that poore Brutus with himſelfe at warre,
Forgets the ſhews of Loue to other men."
— 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 110, column 1:
"The world must construe according to its wits; this court must construe according to the law."
— 1954, Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons:
"This is a new fashionable proverb, which I must construe to you."
— 1750, “To [Sir Horace Mann], Feb. 25. — Ministerial quarrels […] ”, in The Letter of Horace Walpole, Earl of Oxford, volume II, London: Richard Betley, New Burlington Street, published 1840, page 319:
"Thus, in a sentence such as:
(113) John considers [_S Fred to be too sure of himself]
the italicised Reflexive himself can only be construed with Fred, not with John: this follows from our assumption that non-subject Reflexives must have an antecedent within their own S. Notice, however, that in a sentence such as:
(114) John seems to me [_S — to have perjured himself]
himself must be construed with John."
— 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 436:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A judge must ____ the law strictly according to its original wording.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They usefully managed to ____ an efficient work ethic.