construe

3 definitions found

construe - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Construe \Con*strue\ (?; Archaic ?), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
     Construed; p. pr. & vb. n. Construing.] [L. construere:
     cf. F. construire. See Construct.]
     1. To apply the rules of syntax to (a sentence or clause) so
        as to exhibit the structure, arrangement, or connection
        of, or to discover the sense; to explain the construction
        of; to interpret; to translate.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To put a construction upon; to explain the sense or
        intention of; to interpret; to understand.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Thus we are put to construe and paraphrase our own
              words to free ourselves either from the ignorance or
              malice of our enemies.                --Bp.
                                                    Stilingfleet.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              And to be dull was construed to be good. --Pope.
        [1913 Webster]

construe - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  construe
      v 1: make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you
           see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?"
           [syn: interpret, construe, see]

construe - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  20 Moby Thesaurus words for "construe":
     English, define, describe, diagnose, explicate, expound, interpret,
     read, read into, render, spell out, take, take it that,
     take to mean, transcribe, translate, transliterate, turn into,
     understand, understand by