unstand

Verb

understand (third-person singular simple present understands, present participle understanding, simple past and past participle understood)

1. (intransitive, transitive, usually, statements, signs) To know the meaning of; to parse or have parsed correctly; to comprehend.
   • Can you repeat what you just said? I didn't understand.
   1. (intransitive, transitive, usually, statements, signs, generally) To know the meaning of.
      • ‘[…] I came back here, had a wank and finished that book.’
        ‘The Naked Lunch?’
        ‘Yeah.’
        ‘What did you reckon?’
        ‘Crap.’
        ‘You’re just saying that because you didn’t understand it,’ said Adrian.
        ‘I’m just saying that because I did understand it,’ said Tom. ‘Any road up, we’d better start making some...1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 14
2. (transitive, usually, task, profession) To be thoroughly familiar with; to be able to undertake properly.
   • The students understood the assignment.
3. (transitive, usually) To comprehend a fact or principle; to regard or come to regard a belief as such.
   • I understand that company policy says I can't get a refund, but can you make an exception?
4. (transitive) To know the intent, motives or character of; (of events) to know the causes of or reasons for.
   • One day you say you love me, the next you ignore me—I don't understand you!
5. (transitive) To believe or infer, to think one grasps sufficiently despite potentially incomplete knowledge.
   • I've been given to understand that you have a package for me?

   Synonyms:

   believe

See all 9 meanings of understand