- the act or capacity of understanding
- the state of including or comprising something; comprehensiveness
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
com•pre•hen•sion /ˌkɑmprɪˈhɛnʃən/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the act or process of comprehending.
- capacity of the mind to perceive and understand;
power to grasp ideas.
com•pre•hen•sion
(kom′pri hen′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- the act or process of comprehending.
- the state of being comprehended.
- perception or understanding:His comprehension of physics is amazing for a young student.
- capacity of the mind to perceive and understand;
power to grasp ideas;
ability to know. - Philosophy[Logic.]the connotation of a term.
- inclusion.
- comprehensiveness.
- Latin comprehēnsiōn- (stem of comprehēnsiō), equivalent. to comprehēns(us) (past participle of comprehendere to comprehend) + -iōn- -ion
- late Middle English 1400–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
comprehension /ˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnʃən/ n
'reading comprehension' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):