construe

American  

[kuhn-stroo, kon-stroo] / kənˈstru, ˈkɒn stru /

verb (used with object)

construed, construing

1. to give the meaning or intention of; explain; interpret.

2. to deduce by inference or interpretation; infer.

   He construed her intentions from her gestures.

3. to translate, especially orally.

4. to analyze the syntax of; to rehearse the applicable grammatical rules of.

   to construe a sentence.

5. to arrange or combine (words, phrases, etc.) syntactically.

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verb (used without object)

construed, construing

1. to admit of grammatical analysis or interpretation.

noun

1. the act of construing.

2. something that is construed.

construe British  

/ kənˈstruː /

verb

1. to interpret the meaning of (something)

   you can construe that in different ways

2. (may take a clause as object) to discover by inference; deduce

3. to analyse the grammatical structure of; parse (esp a Latin or Greek text as a preliminary to translation)

4. to combine (words) syntactically

5. old-fashioned (also intr) to translate literally, esp aloud as an academic exercise

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noun

1. old-fashioned something that is construed, such as a piece of translation

Other Word Forms

• construability noun
• construable adjective
• construer noun

Etymology

Origin of construe

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English construen, from Latin construere “to put together, build,” equivalent to con- con- + struere “to pile up, arrange,” perhaps akin to sternere “to spread, scatter”; strew, stratum

Explanation

If you interpret something or make sense of it, you construe its meaning. If the new girl in your class asks to sit with you at lunch, you could construe that she wants to be friends. You can never have too many friends! To make an assumption based on evidence is to construe. You could construe that eating an entire box of cookies might make you feel a bit sick. And you might not want to eat them again for a very long time. The opposite of construe is misconstrue, which means to falsely or wrongly interpret. If you get a poor grade on an essay, you shouldn't construe that your teacher dislikes you. If you do, you misconstrue your work for his feelings.

Example Sentences

Attempting to construe the uncivilized and norms-busting battle that Democrats found themselves in, Garcia likened the politics of Trump's second term to a "bar fight."

From Salon • Feb. 21, 2025

By comparison, it is less clear how to construe Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s express but unexplained wish to grant the same petition.

From Slate • Dec. 16, 2024

Circuit Court of Appeals, which he said could construe the law differently, or file a fresh lawsuit in state court.

From Seattle Times • May 16, 2024

Prosecutors routinely use it in cases where they can construe harm to the federal government.

From Reuters • Aug. 2, 2023

Mammachi knew this, but preferred to construe Margaret Kochamma’s silence as a tacit acceptance of payment for the favors Mammachi imagined she bestowed on her son.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Related Words

• define
• infer
• interpret
• parse
• translate