Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
apprehending - 2 dictionary results

ap⋅pre⋅hend

  [ap-ri-hend]
Use apprehending in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to take into custody; arrest by legal warrant or authority: The police apprehended the burglars.
2. to grasp the meaning of; understand, esp. intuitively; perceive.
3. to expect with anxiety, suspicion, or fear; anticipate: apprehending violence.
–verb (used without object)
4. to understand.
5. to be apprehensive, suspicious, or fearful; fear.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME apprehenden < L apprehendere to grasp, equiv. to ap- ap- 1 + prehendere to seize (pre- pre- + -hendere to grasp)

Related forms:
ap⋅pre⋅hend⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To apprehending
ap·pre·hend   (āp'rĭ-hěnd')   
v.   ap·pre·hend·ed, ap·pre·hend·ing, ap·pre·hends

v.   tr.
  1. To take into custody; arrest: apprehended the murderer.
  2. To grasp mentally; understand: a candidate who apprehends the significance of geopolitical issues.
  3. To become conscious of, as through the emotions or senses; perceive.
v.   intr.
To understand something.

[Middle English apprehenden, from Old French apprehender, from Latin apprehendere, to seize : ad-, ad- + prehendere, to grasp; see ghend- in Indo-European roots.]
ap'pre·hend'er n.
Synonyms: These verbs denote perception of the nature and significance of something. Apprehend denotes both mental and intuitive awareness: "Intelligence is quickness to apprehend" (Alfred North Whitehead).
Both comprehend and understand stress complete realization and knowledge: "To comprehend is to know a thing as well as that thing can be known" (John Donne). "No one who has not had the responsibility can really understand what it is like to be President" (Harry S. Truman).
To grasp is to seize an idea firmly: "We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount" (Omar N. Bradley).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see apprehending on Thesaurus | Reference