apprehend

v., -hend·ed, -hend·ing, -hends.

v.tr.

1. To take into custody; arrest: apprehended the murderer.
2. To grasp mentally; understand: a candidate who apprehends the significance of geopolitical issues.
3. To become conscious of, as through the emotions or senses; perceive.

v.intr.

To understand something.

[Middle English apprehenden, from Old French apprehender, from Latin apprehendere, to seize : ad-, ad- + prehendere, to grasp.]

apprehender ap'pre·hend'er n.

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).

verb

1. To take into custody as a prisoner: arrest, seize. Informal nab, pick up. Slang bust, collar, pinch, run in. See law.
2. To perceive directly with the intellect: compass, comprehend, fathom, grasp, know, understand. Scots ken. See knowledge/ignorance.
3. To 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: gethavea handle on, get the picture. See understand/misunderstand.
4. To be intuitively aware of: feel, intuit, perceive, sense. Idioms: feel in one's bones, get vibrations. See knowledge/ignorance.

v

Definition: catch and arrest
Antonyms: lose, not catch

v

Definition: understand
Antonyms: misunderstand

---

IN BRIEF: To capture or arrest.

Detective Lewis went out to apprehend the robbery suspect.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - pågribe, anholde
v. intr. - forstå, begribe, erkende

Nederlands (Dutch)
aanhouden, begrijpen, vrezen

Français (French)
v. tr. - appréhender, arrêter, redouter
v. intr. - concevoir, comprendre

Deutsch (German)
v. - begreifen, erfassen, verhaften, festnehmen, vorausahnen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - συλλαμβάνω, πιάνω, αντιλαμβάνομαι, καταλαβαίνω

Italiano (Italian)
afferrare, arrestare, catturare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - compreender, temer, prender, deter

Русский (Russian)
понимать, предчувствовать, опасаться, арестовывать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - comprender, captar, entender, detener, arrestar
v. intr. - captarse

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - anhålla, uppfatta, befara

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
忧虑, 逮捕, 理解, 担忧, 领会

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 憂慮, 逮捕, 理解
v. intr. - 擔憂, 領會, 理解

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 을 체포하다, 염려하다, 이해하다
v. intr. - 이해하다, 우려하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 逮捕する, 感づく, 意味をとらえる, 懸念する, 悟る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يعتقل, يقبض على‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮חשש, תפס, עצר, אסר, הבין, חרד לבאות‬
v. intr. - ‮חשש, הבין‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.