apprehend
Verb
- get the meaning of something
- take into custody
- anticipate with dread or anxiety
- To be or become aware of (something); to perceive.
- To acknowledge the existence of (something); to recognize.
- To take hold of (something) with understanding; to conceive (something) in the mind; to become cognizant of; to understand.
- To have a conception of (something); to consider, to regard.
- To anticipate (something, usually unpleasant); especially, to anticipate (something) with anxiety, dread, or fear; to dread, to fear.
- To seize or take (something); to take hold of.
- To seize or take (a person) by legal process; to arrest.
- To feel (something) emotionally.
- To learn (something).
- To take possession of (something); to seize.
- To be of opinion, believe, or think; to suppose.
- To understand.
- To be apprehensive; to fear.
Examples
- Officers apprehended the suspect two streets away from the bank.
Origin / Etymology
From Late Middle English apprehenden (“to grasp, take hold of; to comprehend; to learn”), from Old French apprehender (modern French appréhender (“to apprehend; to catch; to dread”)), from Latin apprehendere, adprehendere, the present active infinitive of apprehendō, adprehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, take; to apprehend, arrest; to comprehend, understand; to embrace, include; to take possession of, obtain, secure”), from ap-, ad- (prefix meaning ‘to’) + prehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, snatch, take; to accost; to catch in the act, take by surprise; (figuratively, rare) of the mind: to apprehend, comprehend, grasp”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to hold, seize, take; to find”)).
Synonyms
arrest, collar, compass, comprehend, cop, dig, get the picture, grasp, grok, nab, nail, pick up, quail at, savvy, believe, capture, catch, detain, gather, get, reckon
Scrabble Score: 17
apprehend: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordapprehend: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
apprehend: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary