interpret

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“
Here, look up," he took her bowed head tenderly between his hands and raised it, "look into my face; read it well--interpret, and you will cease to idealize, mother She wiped her eyes, half-smiling through her tears.

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Definitions (19)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. transitive verb To explain the meaning of: interpreted the ambassador's remarks. See Synonyms at explain.
  2. transitive verb To conceive the significance of; construe: interpreted his smile to be an agreement; interpreted the open door as an invitation.
  3. transitive verb To present or conceptualize the meaning of by means of art or criticism.
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Examples (50)

  • Here, look up," he took her bowed head tenderly between his hands and raised it, "look into my face; read it well--interpret, and you will cease to idealize, mother She wiped her eyes, half-smiling through her tears. —  Flamsted quarries
  • Interpretation varies, facts remain the same; and to interpret is to recreate. —  A Prisoner in Fairyland
  • On the morrow of every such crime--interpret the word rightly--he hated himself for his cruelty to that pale sufferer whose reproaches were only the utterances of love. —  The Nether World
  • Revelation is a difficult book to interpret -- even for the best of scholars. —  Epinions Recent Content for Home
  • Thanks for your attempt to interpret, as I too find it hard to follow. —  The Oil Drum - Discussions about Energy and Our Future
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

sea-wolf ·  demy ·  corgi ·  antinous ·  herbalist ·  swashbuckler ·  jinx ·  wolfskin ·  tax-gatherer ·  satan ·  tenderfoot ·  liberator

Used in the same contextWord Family

interpret:   interpreting ·  interpreted ·  interprets
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English interpreten, from Old French interpreter, from Latin interpretārī, from interpres, interpret-, negotiator, explainer; see per-5 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English interpreten, from Old French interpreter, French interpréter = Provencal interpretar, enterpretar = Spanish Portuguese interpretar = Italian interpretare, from Latin interpretari, explain, expound, interpret, from interpres (interpret-), an agent, broker, explainer, interpreter, from inter, between, + -pres (-pret-), prob. connected with Greek φράζειν, point out, show, explain, declare, speak, later φραδή, understanding, φράσις, speech: see phrase.
 

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/ɪnˈtərprɛt/
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