See apprehend in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms
apprehend comprehend understand grasp
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).
See apprehend in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
verb
To take into custody as a prisoner:
arrest, seize. (Informal) nab, pick up. (Slang) bust, collar, pinch, run in. See lawTo perceive directly with the intellect:
compass, comprehend, fathom, grasp, know, understand. (Scots) ken. See knowledgeTo perceive and recognize the meaning of:
accept, catch (on), compass, comprehend, conceive, fathom, follow, get, grasp, make out, read, see, sense, take, take in, understand. (Informal) savvy. (Slang) dig. (Chiefly British) twig. (Scots) ken. Idioms: get (or have) a handle on, get the picture. See understandTo be intuitively aware of:
feel, intuit, perceive, sense. Idioms: feel in one's bones, get vibrations. See knowledge
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