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Interpret Common

Origin: Latin prefix inter-

Interpret has 7 different meanings across 1 category:

Verb

Definitions
Verb
1

make sense of; assign a meaning to

"What message do you see in this letter?"

"How do you interpret his behavior?"

2

give an interpretation or explanation to

"The professor interpreted the complex data into a simple conclusion that everyone could understand."

3

give an interpretation or rendition of

"The pianist rendered the Beethoven sonata beautifully"

4

create an image or likeness of

"The painter represented his wife as a young girl"

5

restate (words) from one language into another language

"I have to translate when my in-laws from Austria visit the U.S."

"Can you interpret the speech of the visiting dignitaries?"

"She rendered the French poem into English"

"He translates for the U.N."

6

make sense of a language

"She understands French"

"Can you read Greek?"

7

To explain or tell the meaning of; to translate orally into intelligible or familiar language or terms. applied especially to language, but also to dreams, signs, conduct, mysteries, etc.

"The guide interpreted the ancient symbols on the stone tablet for us before we continued our journey through the ruins."

In plain English: To interpret means to explain what something means by looking at it carefully and figuring out its true message.

"The manager interpreted his silence as agreement with the new plan."

Usage: Use interpret when you are explaining the meaning behind someone's words, actions, or art rather than simply translating them literally. This verb is often confused with "translate," which refers specifically to converting text from one written language into another without necessarily analyzing deeper intent.

Example Sentences
"The manager interpreted his silence as agreement with the new plan." verb
"She tried to interpret his strange gestures during the meeting." verb
"The guide interpreted the ancient ruins for the visiting tourists." verb
"I cannot always interpret what he meant by those ambiguous words." verb
See Also
misconstrue overread overquantify noninterpretation interprets morgan's canon misinterpret physicalize
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
understand explain perform re-create repeat
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
misconstrue read between the lines mythicize literalize spiritualize reinterpret allegorize take read educe moralize deconstruct commentate misinterpret gloss sing sensualize silhouette animalize profile paint capture picture stylize map portray draw model graph retranslate mistranslate Latinize

Origin

The word "interpret" comes from the Latin interpretor, meaning to explain or expound. It entered English via Old French and originally referred to an agent who acted as a broker or explainer between parties.

Rhyming Words
ret aret uret dret fret tret pret bret buret beret adret curet egret peret toret mpret caret refret futret lerret
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