understand, comprehend, appreciate mean to have a clear or complete idea of. understand and comprehend are very often interchangeable. understand may, however, stress the fact of having attained a firm mental grasp of something.
Understand is the most general and can apply to a range of situations or degrees of perception: understood the directions; understands only a little spoken Spanish; couldn't understand what I did wrong.
UNDERSTAND meaning: 1 : to know the meaning of (something, such as the words that someone is saying or a language) comprehend; 2 : to know how (something) works or happens
Understanding is a cognitive process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object of understanding. Understanding implies abilities and dispositions with respect to an object of knowledge that are sufficient to support intelligent behavior ...
comprehend (third-person singular simple present comprehends, present participle comprehending, simple past and past participle comprehended) (transitive) To understand or grasp fully and thoroughly; to plumb. [from 14th c.] synonym quotations Synonym: see I just can't comprehend how someone could be a butcher and vegetarian at the same time.
If you understand that something is the case, you think it is true because you have heard or read that it is. You can say that something is understood to be the case to mean that people generally think it is true.
The words appreciate and comprehend are common synonyms of understand. While all three words mean "to have a clear or complete idea of," understand and comprehend are very often interchangeable, with understand sometimes stressing the fact of having attained a firm mental grasp of something.
Understand is the most general and can apply to a range of situations or degrees of perception: understood the directions; understands only a little spoken Spanish; couldn't understand what I did wrong.