Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To adduce or explain the meaning of; interpret: construed my smile as assent. See Synonyms at explain.
- v. Grammar To analyze the structure of (a clause or sentence).
- v. Grammar To use syntactically: The noun fish can be construed as singular or plural.
- v. To translate, especially aloud.
- v. To analyze grammatical structure.
- v. To be subject to grammatical analysis.
- n. An interpretation or translation.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To arrange the words of in their natural order; reduce the words of from a transposed to a natural order, so as to demonstrate the sense; hence, interpret, and, when applied to a foreign language, translate: as, to construe a sentence; to construe Greek, Latin, or French.
- Hence To interpret; explain; show or understand the meaning of; render.
- Synonyms Interpret, Render, etc. (see translate). Construe, Construct. “To construe means to interpret, to show the meaning; to construct means to build: we may construe a sentence, as in translation, or construct it, as in composition.”
- To yield to or admit of grammatical analysis or interpretation: as, a sentence that will not construe.
Wiktionary
- n. A translation.
- n. An interpretation.
- v. To interpret or explain the meaning of something.
- v. grammar To analyze the grammatical structure of a clause or sentence.
- v. To translate.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To apply the rules of syntax to (a sentence or clause) so as to exhibit the structure, arrangement, or connection of, or to discover the sense; to explain the construction of; to interpret; to translate.
- v. To put a construction upon; to explain the sense or intention of; to interpret; to understand.
WordNet 3.0
- v. make sense of; assign a meaning to
Etymologies
- From Late Latin construo ("to relate grammatically"), from Latin construo ("pile together") (Wiktionary)
- Middle English construen, from Late Latin cōnstruere, from Latin, to build; see construct. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“no prudent person will deny that there is need of many supplements and explanations from other writings" than the Bible, to the end, namely, that a person may construe from the German Bibles the true Catholic faith.”
Luther Examined and Reexamined A Review of Catholic Criticism and a Plea for Revaluation
“[Footnote 1: The vulgar pronunciation of the word construe is here intended.”
“As I've explained, the Administration bill would purport to "construe" Common Article 3 of Geneva to prohibit only what the McCain Amendment prohibits (and to cut off any judicial review that might overturn that implausible interpretation of Common Article 3).”
“Yet in his statement Bush said he will "construe" an exception, "which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection in a manner consistent ... with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances.”
“In other words, Congress can go fly a kite as far as trying to control him in matters of National Defense, because he can "construe" the laws anyway he chooses, even construe them as null and void.”
“If you believe that Israel is a legitimate state, then you will "construe" any article that treats it as legitimate as "pro-Israeli.”
“Besides the idiocy of thinking that an Amendment that directs a Court to "construe" something a certain way would actually work, it suffers the additional problem that it has NO POLITICAL APPEAL whatsoever.”
“I'm not convinced that amendments directing Courts to "construe" words are productive, nor do I believe that defining words in the Constitution will work since the Court already disregards plain meaning of words for its own ends.”
“Looking to context, if you mean "construe", I gather that you (and many other progressives) are not a fan of this "four corners" concept?”
“When Bush used to announce in signing statements that he would violate the very law he was signing into law, he would typically say that he would "construe" section such-and-such "in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief," or with his duty "to supervise the unitary executive branch.”
Pacific Free Press - Hard Truths for Hard Times - Progressive opinion, dissident news
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘construe’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
replete, steeped, eminent, indiscriminate, voracious, automaton, prognosticate, technology, abound, matron, tinge, compound and 297 more...
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GRE
predilection, explicit, appeal, supplication, appealing, enchanting, ovation, pertinent, apropos, opportunely, applicable, germane and 381 more...
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September/October 2011
excogitate, extrapolate, infer, imply, theorize, hypothesize, propose, propound, explicate, elucidate, prognostication, construe and 3 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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The Times
umbrageous, libidinaly, dicastery, millenarian, penultimate, eschatological, construe, heuristic, transmogrify, fulgurating, inimical
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words
my words. my mind. my gosh.
try not to enjoy it too much.git, ghoti, sauce, quail, querulous, quarrelsome, reliability, untoward, incongruities, fission, fanatic, apple and 206 more...
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SAT words
abase, abate, abet, abject, abjure, abrogate, abscond, abstruse, accolade, accommodating, accost, accretion and 202 more...
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GRE Reference
A list of words unfamiliar to me that I have repeatedly encountered in GRE question sets.
parochial, clique, salacious, aegis, ostracize, conceited, sacrilegious, inane, serendipity, gourmand, polemic, tenuous and 138 more...
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Reading Vocab
ulterior, warrant, syllogism, precious, impiety, maroon, aigrette, batiste, topsy-turvy ago, midnight crush, cantankerous, slovenly and 180 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 288 more...
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Vocabulary Words 2.
cow tow, evident, harassed, egalitarians, anomolous, tenuous, fondly, foment, construe, ingratiate, parlance, spectacular and 96 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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SAT vocab
abash, abdicate, abate, aberration, abhor, abject, abnegate, abortive, absolve, abstruse, accolade, accost and 175 more...
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