Adjacent Words

Apprehend definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

APPREHEND', v.t. [L. apprehendo, of ad and prehendo, to take or seize.]
1. To take or seize; to take hold of. In this literal sense, it is applied chiefly to taking or arresting persons by legal process, or with a view to trial; as to apprehend a thief.
2. To take with the understanding, that is, to conceive in the mine; to understand, without passing a judgment, or making an inference.
I apprehend not why so many and various laws are given.
3. To think; to believe or be of opinion, but without positive certainty; as, all this is true, but we apprehend it is not to the purpose.
Notwithstanding this declaration, we do not apprehend that we are guilty of presumption.
4. To fear; to entertain suspicion or fear of future evil; as, we apprehend calamities from a feeble or wicked administration.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: get the meaning of something; "Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?" [syn: grok, get the picture, comprehend, savvy, dig, grasp, compass, apprehend]
2: take into custody; "the police nabbed the suspected criminals" [syn: collar, nail, apprehend, arrest, pick up, nab, cop]
3: anticipate with dread or anxiety [syn: apprehend, quail at]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English, from Latin apprehendere, literally, to seize, from ad- + prehendere to seize — more at get Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. arrest, seize <apprehend a thief> 2. a. to become aware of ; perceive b. to anticipate especially with anxiety, dread, or fear 3. to grasp with the understanding ; recognize the meaning of intransitive verb understand, grasp

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 understand, perceive (apprehend your meaning). 2 seize, arrest (apprehended the criminal). 3 anticipate with uneasiness or fear (apprehending the results). Etymology: F appréhender or L apprehendere (as AD-, prehendere prehens- lay hold of)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Apprehend Ap`pre*hend" ([a^]p`pr[-e]*h[e^]nd"), 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. appr['e]hender. See Prehensile, Get.] 1. To take or seize; to take hold of. [Archaic] We have two hands to apprehend it. --Jer. Taylor. 2. Hence: To take or seize (a person) by legal process; to arrest; as, to apprehend a criminal. 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. 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. The eternal laws, such as the heroic age apprehended them. --Gladstone. 4. To know or learn with certainty. [Obs.] 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. 5. To anticipate; esp., to anticipate with anxiety, dread, or fear; to fear. The opposition had more reason than the king to apprehend violence. --Macaulay. Syn: To catch; seize; arrest; detain; capture; conceive; understand; imagine; believe; fear; dread. Usage: 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Apprehend Ap`pre*hend", v. i. 1. To think, believe, or be of opinion; to understand; to suppose. 2. To be apprehensive; to fear. It is worse to apprehend than to suffer. --Rowe.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(apprehends, apprehending, apprehended) If the police apprehend someone, they catch them and arrest them. (FORMAL) Police have not apprehended her killer. = catch VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ap-re-hend': Occurs in the New Testament in two meanings: "to arrest" (piazo; Ac 12:4; 2Co 11:32 the Revised Version (British and American), "take"); and "to seize," "grasp," "take into one's possession," "attain," "inquire eagerly" (katalambano, the American Standard Revised Version "laid hold on," "laid fast hold of," Php 3:12,13; Eph 3:18). In Joh 1:5, "The darkness apprehended it not," the Revised Version, margin gives "overcame not." See COMPREHEND.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Seize, arrest, take, catch, detain, capture, take prisoner. 2. Conceive, imagine, look at, regard, view. 3. See (mentally), perceive, realize, understand, take in, appreciate, take the meaning or point of. 4. Fear, forebode, have a presentiment of. II. v. n. Think, suppose, imagine, conceive, fancy, hold, ween, presume, be of opinion, take it. See opine.

Moby Thesaurus

absorb, accept, anticipate, appreciate, arrest, assimilate, be acquainted with, be afraid, be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, be conversant with, be informed, be sensible of, be with one, bode, bust, capture, catch, catch on, cognize, collar, compass, comprehend, conceive, conceptualize, cotton to, croak, detain, dig, digest, discern, divine, dread, experience, eye askance, fathom, fear, feel, follow, forebode, foreknow, forewarn, get, get hold of, get the drift, get the idea, get the picture, grab, grasp, have, have a premonition, have a presentiment, have information about, have it taped, have knowledge of, have qualms, hear, ken, know, learn, look black, lower, make an arrest, make out, master, menace, misgive, nab, net, penetrate, perceive, pick up, pinch, portend, possess, preapprehend, prehend, prevision, pull in, put under arrest, read, realize, recognize, respond, respond to stimuli, run in, savvy, see, seize, seize the meaning, sense, sit upon thorns, smell, stand aghast, take, take captive, take in, take into custody, take prisoner, taste, threaten, touch, tumble to, twig, understand, visualize, warn, wot, wot of