comprehension

The word “comprehension” means the ability to understand something, or the act of understanding it. In plain terms, understanding — either the mental skill itself, or a school exercise that tests it.

“Comprehension” is pronounced komp-rih-HEHNSHN (/ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/ in IPA).

Here is “comprehension” used in a sentence: “Her comprehension of the material improved after the extra tutoring.”

Words with a similar meaning to “comprehension” include understanding.

“Comprehension” is a noun.

The word “comprehension” comes from Latin. From Latin comprehensio, "a taking together," from comprehendere — see "comprehend.".

“Comprehension” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Comprehension” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the ability to understand something, or the act of understanding it.

Comprehension and understanding are close synonyms, both referring to the ability to grasp meaning, but comprehension is used more often in educational and technical contexts, such as reading comprehension, while understanding is the broader everyday term. In practice the two words can usually be swapped without changing the meaning.

A reading comprehension exercise is an educational task that tests how well a reader understands a passage of text, typically through questions about its content, meaning, or details. This specific meaning is common in schools, language learning, and standardized tests.

Comprehension is a noun meaning the ability to understand something, while comprehensive is an adjective meaning complete or covering everything relevant, as in a comprehensive report. The two words share a root but function differently and are not interchangeable.