construe
Use Construe in a sentence
con·strue
[v. kuh
n-stroo or, esp. British, kon-stroo; n. kon-stroo] verb, con·strued, con·stru·ing, noun verb (used with object)
1.
to give the meaning or intention of; explain; interpret.
2.
to deduce by inference or interpretation; infer: He construed her intentions from her gestures.
3.
to translate, especially orally.
4.
to analyze the syntax of; to rehearse the applicable grammatical rules of: to construe a sentence.
5.
to arrange or combine (words, phrases, etc.) syntactically.
verb (used without object)
6.
to admit of grammatical analysis or interpretation.
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Construe
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
| to flee; abscond: |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
noun
7.
the act of construing.
8.
something that is construed.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To construe
Collins
World English Dictionary
construe (kənˈstruː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , -strues, -struing, -strued | |
| 1. | to interpret the meaning of (something): you can construe that in different ways |
| 2. | (may take a clause as object) to discover by inference; deduce |
| 3. | to analyse the grammatical structure of; parse (esp a Latin or Greek text as a preliminary to translation) |
| 4. | to combine (words) syntactically |
| 5. | old-fashioned (also intr) to translate literally, esp aloud as an academic exercise |
| —n | |
| 6. | old-fashioned something that is construed, such as a piece of translation |
| [C14: from Latin construere to pile up; see | |
| con'struable | |
| —adj | |
| construa'bility | |
| —n | |
| con'struer | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
construe
mid-14c., from L.L. construere "to relate grammatically," in classical L. "to pile together" (see construction); also see construct, which is a later acquisition of the same word. Related: Construal (1960).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
It be invigorating to construe knowledge off their writers and pattern a slight something from their keep.
The applicable retirement statutes, regulations, and decided cases that construe them are the governing law.
No one with both working brain hemispheres could construe that as suggesting that anything had been proven.
To construe the grammarian's description this way would be to confuse an account of competence with a theory of performance.
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