understanding

American  

[uhn-der-stan-ding] / ˌʌn dərˈstæn dɪŋ /

noun

1. mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation.

   My understanding of the word does not agree with yours.

2. intellectual faculties; intelligence; mind.

   a quick understanding.

3. superior power of discernment; enlightened intelligence.

   With her keen understanding she should have become a leader.

4. knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something.

   an understanding of accounting practice.

5. a state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people.

   To him, understanding and goodwill were the supreme virtues.

6. a mutual agreement, especially of a private, unannounced, or tacit kind.

   They had an understanding about who would do the dishes.

7. an agreement regulating joint activity or settling differences, often informal or preliminary in character.

   After hours of negotiation, no understanding on a new contract was reached.

8. Philosophy.

   1. the power of abstract thought; logical power.

   2. Kantianism. the mental faculty resolving the sensory manifold into the transcendental unity of apperception.

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adjective

1. characterized by understanding; prompted by, based on, or demonstrating comprehension, intelligence, discernment, empathy, or the like.

   an understanding attitude.

understanding British  

/ ˌʌndəˈstændɪŋ /

noun

1. the ability to learn, judge, make decisions, etc; intelligence or sense

2. personal opinion or interpretation of a subject

   my understanding of your predicament

3. a mutual agreement or compact, esp an informal or private one

4. an unofficial engagement to be married

5. archaic philosophy the mind, esp the faculty of reason

6. with the condition that; providing

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adjective

1. sympathetic, tolerant, or wise towards people

2. possessing judgment and intelligence

Other Word Forms

• nonunderstanding adjective
• nonunderstandingly adverb
• self-understanding noun
• understandingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of understanding

First recorded before 1050; understand + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Such seamless technologies teach us that repair and understanding is not our role and that such proficiency and knowledge is unnecessary.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026

‘People are slapping the FDE title on sales engineering without really understanding how Palantir did FDE or why it worked so well.’

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

But these earlier images deepen our understanding of the social causes that mattered to him, echoing scenes from Vietnam and domestic race riots that clearly shaped a pacifist perspective.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

“I’ve gotten a lot better at understanding what it means to slow down and to share that with someone,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

I can’t make him understand, when he’s committed to not understanding me at all.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• conclusion
• idea
• impression
• interpretation
• judgment
• knowledge
• meaning
• opinion
• perception
• sense
• sympathy
• view