interpret
to construe or understand in a particular way: to interpret a reply as favorable.
to bring out the meaning of (a dramatic work, music, etc.) by performance or execution.
to perform or render (a song, role in a play, etc.) according to one's own understanding or sensitivity: The actor interpreted Lear as a weak, pitiful old man.
to translate orally.
Computers. : See also interpreter (def. 3).
to use an interpreter to transform (a program written in a high-level language) into a sequence of machine actions, one statement at a time, executing each statement immediately before going on to transform the next one.
to read (the patterns of holes in punched cards) with an interpreter, printing the interpreted data on the same cards so that they can be read more conveniently by people.
to translate what is said in a foreign language.
to explain something; give an explanation.
Origin of interpret
1Other words from interpret
- in·ter·pret·a·ble, adjective
- in·ter·pret·a·bil·i·ty, in·ter·pret·a·ble·ness, noun
- in·ter·pret·a·bly, adverb
- non·in·ter·pret·a·bil·i·ty, noun
- non·in·ter·pret·a·ble, adjective
- pre·in·ter·pret, verb (used with object)
- re·in·ter·pret, verb
- self-in·ter·pret·ed, adjective
- self-in·ter·pret·ing, adjective
- un·in·ter·pret·a·ble, adjective
- un·in·ter·pret·ed, adjective
- well-in·ter·pret·ed, adjective
Words Nearby interpret
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use interpret in a sentence
For instance, I think of teenagers as being really willing to ask questions that some people interpret as sensitive.
Can I Ask You a Ridiculously Personal Question? (Ep. 451) | Stephen J. Dubner | February 11, 2021 | FreakonomicsOthers described how they have to take their children with them everywhere they go to interpret for them.
African Communities Warn Language Issues Could Shut Them Out of Redistricting | Maya Srikrishnan | February 10, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoThere are some people who would say he should not have a platform on social media because they disagree strongly with how he interprets the data.
Twenty-Six Words Created the Internet. What Will It Take to Save It? | Stephen Engelberg | February 9, 2021 | ProPublicaWhile it might seem like the law is the law, what’s far more important than what is written in the law or SEC regulations is how the law is interpreted, which is really about the sociology of attorneys.
That’s in part because the findings establish evidence in a way that the legal system can interpret.
A looming climate disaster threatens the lives of 6,000 Peruvians | Philip Kiefer | February 9, 2021 | Popular-Science
The impulse to interpret seems to me what makes personal essay writing compelling.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination | Mindy Farabee | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs Testino explains, he decided to interpret each of the pillars via six unique characters.
The Restaurant, Flask, And Photography Worthy of The Macallan Whisky | | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe first story featured a man who hires Dr. Strange to help interpret his troubled dreams.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician | Rich Goldstein | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMany Muslims may disagree with my view, or interpret Islam in a more moderate way, but I cannot accept this religion myself.
What It’s Like to Be an Atheist in Palestine | Waleed al-Husseini, Movements.Org | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt first glance, it might be tempting to interpret this extravagant level of compensation as a victory for the once-humble intern.
Silicon Valley Interns Make a Service Worker’s Yearly Salary In Three Months | Samantha Allen | November 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMademoiselle caught it, and Garnache caught it too, although he failed to interpret it as precisely as he would have liked.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniI opposed this, fearing, of course, that the French and even the Gentiles might interpret this as an affront to our faith.
Increpaui ego, vt potui, per interpret paganicos hos mores in iam Christianis.
Miss Watling seemed to interpret his thoughts, for she positively looked down and blushed.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieDifferent courts interpret the same act sometimes in different ways.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
British Dictionary definitions for interpret
/ (ɪnˈtɜːprɪt) /
(tr) to clarify or explain the meaning of; elucidate
(tr) to construe the significance or intention of: to interpret a smile as an invitation
(tr) to convey or represent the spirit or meaning of (a poem, song, etc) in performance
(intr) to act as an interpreter; translate orally
Origin of interpret
1Derived forms of interpret
- interpretable, adjective
- interpretability or interpretableness, noun
- interpretably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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