apprehend


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ap·pre·hend

 (ăp′rĭ-hĕnd′)
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: "Science is the systematic method by which we apprehend what is true about the real world in which we live" (Richard Dawkins). See Synonyms at understand.
3. To become conscious of, as through the emotions or senses; perceive: "She began to look with her own eyes; to see and to apprehend the deeper undercurrents of life" (Kate Chopin).
4. Archaic To anticipate with worry or dread.
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.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

apprehend

(ˌæprɪˈhɛnd)
vb
1. (Law) (tr) to arrest and escort into custody; seize
2. to perceive or grasp mentally; understand
3. (tr) to await with fear or anxiety; dread
[C14: from Latin apprehendere to lay hold of]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ap•pre•hend

(ˌæp rɪˈhɛnd)

v.t.
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.
v.i.
4. to understand: To apprehend was to forgive.
5. to be apprehensive, suspicious, or fearful; fear.
[1350–1400; < Latin apprehendere to grasp = ap-1 + prehendere to seize]
ap`pre•hend′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

apprehend


Past participle: apprehended
Gerund: apprehending

Imperative
apprehend
apprehend
Present
I apprehend
you apprehend
he/she/it apprehends
we apprehend
you apprehend
they apprehend
Preterite
I apprehended
you apprehended
he/she/it apprehended
we apprehended
you apprehended
they apprehended
Present Continuous
I am apprehending
you are apprehending
he/she/it is apprehending
we are apprehending
you are apprehending
they are apprehending
Present Perfect
I have apprehended
you have apprehended
he/she/it has apprehended
we have apprehended
you have apprehended
they have apprehended
Past Continuous
I was apprehending
you were apprehending
he/she/it was apprehending
we were apprehending
you were apprehending
they were apprehending
Past Perfect
I had apprehended
you had apprehended
he/she/it had apprehended
we had apprehended
you had apprehended
they had apprehended
Future
I will apprehend
you will apprehend
he/she/it will apprehend
we will apprehend
you will apprehend
they will apprehend
Future Perfect
I will have apprehended
you will have apprehended
he/she/it will have apprehended
we will have apprehended
you will have apprehended
they will have apprehended
Future Continuous
I will be apprehending
you will be apprehending
he/she/it will be apprehending
we will be apprehending
you will be apprehending
they will be apprehending
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been apprehending
you have been apprehending
he/she/it has been apprehending
we have been apprehending
you have been apprehending
they have been apprehending
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been apprehending
you will have been apprehending
he/she/it will have been apprehending
we will have been apprehending
you will have been apprehending
they will have been apprehending
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been apprehending
you had been apprehending
he/she/it had been apprehending
we had been apprehending
you had been apprehending
they had been apprehending
Conditional
I would apprehend
you would apprehend
he/she/it would apprehend
we would apprehend
you would apprehend
they would apprehend
Past Conditional
I would have apprehended
you would have apprehended
he/she/it would have apprehended
we would have apprehended
you would have apprehended
they would have apprehended
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.apprehend - get the meaning of somethingapprehend - get the meaning of something; "Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?"
understand - know and comprehend the nature or meaning of; "She did not understand her husband"; "I understand what she means"
figure - understand; "He didn't figure her"
catch on, cotton on, get it, get onto, get wise, twig, latch on, tumble - understand, usually after some initial difficulty; "She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but finally caught on"
intuit - know or grasp by intuition or feeling
digest - arrange and integrate in the mind; "I cannot digest all this information"
2.apprehend - take into custodyapprehend - take into custody; "the police nabbed the suspected criminals"
clutch, prehend, seize - take hold of; grab; "The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter"; "She clutched her purse"; "The mother seized her child by the arm"; "Birds of prey often seize small mammals"
3.apprehend - anticipate with dread or anxietyapprehend - anticipate with dread or anxiety  
look for, look to, anticipate - be excited or anxious about
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

apprehend

verb
1. arrest, catch, lift (slang), nick (slang, chiefly Brit.), capture, seize, run in (slang), take, nail (informal), bust (informal), collar (informal), pinch (informal), nab (informal), take prisoner, feel your collar (slang) Police have not apprehended her killer.
arrest free, release, discharge, liberate, let go
2. understand, know, think, believe, imagine, realize, recognize, appreciate, perceive, grasp, conceive, comprehend, get the message, get the picture Only now can I begin to apprehend the power of these forces.
understand miss, misunderstand, be unaware of, be unconscious of, be at cross-purposes, misapprehend, misconceive, get your lines crossed
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

apprehend

verb
1. To take into custody as a prisoner:
Informal: nab, pick up.
Slang: bust, collar, pinch, run in.
2. To perceive directly with the intellect:
Scots: ken.
3. To perceive and recognize the meaning of:
Informal: savvy.
Slang: dig.
Chiefly British: twig.
Scots: ken.
4. To be intuitively aware of:
Idioms: feel in one's bones, get vibrations.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَعْتَقِل، يُلْقي القَبْض عَلىيَفْهَم
chápatporozumětzatknout
anholdearrestereforståpågribe
skiljataka til fanga
areštuotibūgštavimasnerimaujantissu nerimusulaikyti
aizturētapjēgtarestētsaprast

apprehend

[ˌæprɪˈhend] (frm) VT
1. (= arrest) → detener, aprehender
2. (= understand) → comprender
3. (= fear) → recelar, recelar de
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

apprehend

[ˌæprɪˈhɛnd] vt
[+ suspect, criminal, offender, murderer, culprit] → appréhender, arrêter
(= understand) [+ fact, power] → comprendre, saisir
(= fear) → appréhender
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

apprehend

vt
(= arrest)festnehmen
(old, form: = understand) → verstehen
(form: = anticipate) → befürchten
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

apprehend

[ˌæprɪˈhɛnd] vt (frm) (arrest) → arrestare; (understand) → comprendere
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

apprehend

(apriˈhend) verb
1. to arrest. The police apprehended the thief.
2. to understand.
ˌappreˈhension (-ʃən) noun
1. fear.
2. understanding.
ˌappreˈhensive (-siv) adjective
anxious; worried. an apprehensive expression.
ˌappreˈhensively adverb
ˌappreˈhensiveness noun
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
From this it is plain that, if a man definitely apprehends a relative thing, he will also definitely apprehend that to which it is relative.
Thus, by knowledge we mean knowledge the knowable; by the knowable, that which is to be apprehended by knowledge; by perception, perception of the perceptible; by the perceptible, that which is apprehended by perception.
They who well consider the history of similar divisions and confederacies will find abundant reason to apprehend that those in contemplation would in no other sense be neighbors than as they would be borderers; that they would neither love nor trust one another, but on the contrary would be a prey to discord, jealousy, and mutual injuries; in short, that they would place us exactly in the situations in which some nations doubtless wish to see us, viz., FORMIDABLE ONLY TO EACH OTHER.
"MY DEAR MAGDALEN -- You have no useless remonstrances to apprehend at the sight of my handwriting.
Miss Bridget Allworthy (for that was the name of this lady) very rightly conceived the charms of person in a woman to be no better than snares for herself, as well as for others; and yet so discreet was she in her conduct, that her prudence was as much on the guard as if she had all the snares to apprehend which were ever laid for her whole sex.
She began to look with her own eyes; to see and to apprehend the deeper undercurrents of life.
To apprehend the true aspect, force, and morality of war as a natural function of mankind one requires a feather in the hair and a ring in the nose, or, better still, teeth filed to a point and a tattooed breast.
But, it being my intention to write a thing which shall be useful to him who apprehends it, it appears to me more appropriate to follow up the real truth of the matter than the imagination of it; for many have pictured republics and principalities which in fact have never been known or seen, because how one lives is so far distant from how one ought to live, that he who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation; for a man who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him among so much that is evil.
The collective sense of the State legislatures can never be influenced by extraneous circumstances of that sort; a consideration which alone ought to satisfy us that the discrimination apprehended would never be attempted.
They apprehended my breaking loose; that my diet would be very expensive, and might cause a famine.
If Crooks and M'Lellan had been exasperated by the insolent conduct of the Sioux Tetons, and the loss which it had occasioned, those freebooters had been no less indignant at being outwitted by the white men, and disappointed of their anticipated gains, and it was apprehended they would be particularly hostile against the present expedition, when they should learn that these gentlemen were engaged in it.
Jose Amarillo, their last hope, a recent convert, who had promised money, had been apprehended at his hacienda in Chihuahua and shot against his own stable wall.