Definition of interpret

Definitions

Verb

make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?"

Verb

give an interpretation or explanation to

Verb

give an interpretation or rendition of; "The pianist rendered the Beethoven sonata beautifully"

Verb

create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his wife as a young girl"

Verb

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."

Verb

make sense of a language; "She understands French"; "Can you read Greek?"

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Synonyms

construe read rede render represent see translate understand

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More General Terms

do execute explain explicate ingeminate iterate perform re-create reiterate repeat restate retell understand

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More Specific Terms

allegorise allegorize animalise animalize annotate be amiss capture carnalize chart comment commentate conventionalize deconstruct depict draw draw out educe elicit evoke extract gloss graph Latinize limn literalise literalize map misapprehend misconceive misconstrue misinterpret mistranslate misunderstand mock up model moralise moralize mythicise mythicize paint picture portray present profile read read between the lines re-explain reinterpret render retranslate scan sensualize show silhouette sing spiritualise spiritualize stylise stylize take

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