Construe
verb
To understand or interpret in a particular way.
She construed their actions as hostile.
Often appears as...
- construe as
- construe to
verb
To analyze the arrangement and connection of words in a sentence.
The linguist construed the sentence in terms of its underlying grammar
Often appears as...
- construe a sentence
- construe syntax
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
verb
To understand or interpret in a particular way.
She construed their actions as hostile.
Often appears as...
- construe as
- construe to
verb
To analyze the arrangement and connection of words in a sentence.
The linguist construed the sentence in terms of its underlying grammar
Often appears as...
- construe a sentence
- construe syntax
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Subjectivity Involved
Understanding 'construe' depends on personal perspective, so different people might construe the same thing differently.
The poem was construed as both optimistic and pessimistic, depending on the reader.
Pro Tip 2/3Context Matters
The way 'construe' is understood can vary greatly by the situation in which it is used.
Despite his joking tone, his comments were construed as serious.
Pro Tip 3/3Misunderstandings Occur
'Construe' can signal misunderstandings, so be mindful when using it to explain how someone may misinterpret something.
He construed my advice as criticism, which was not my intention.
Pro Tip 1/3Subjectivity Involved
Understanding 'construe' depends on personal perspective, so different people might construe the same thing differently.
The poem was construed as both optimistic and pessimistic, depending on the reader.
Pro Tip 2/3Context Matters
The way 'construe' is understood can vary greatly by the situation in which it is used.
Despite his joking tone, his comments were construed as serious.
Pro Tip 3/3Misunderstandings Occur
'Construe' can signal misunderstandings, so be mindful when using it to explain how someone may misinterpret something.
He construed my advice as criticism, which was not my intention.
Pro Tip 1/3Subjectivity Involved
Understanding 'construe' depends on personal perspective, so different people might construe the same thing differently.
The poem was construed as both optimistic and pessimistic, depending on the reader.
Pro Tip 2/3Context Matters
The way 'construe' is understood can vary greatly by the situation in which it is used.
Despite his joking tone, his comments were construed as serious.
Pro Tip 3/3Misunderstandings Occur
'Construe' can signal misunderstandings, so be mindful when using it to explain how someone may misinterpret something.
He construed my advice as criticism, which was not my intention.
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Video examples
Parthenon Battle PIPE...
received what he construed as permission to remove the marble friezes and take them home to England his partisans say he saved these stunning artworks from vandals who were pulling them apart without him they say the marbles
Video examples
Steven Pinker: Human...
everything is the opposite to the way it is here. But if you instead look at what is common to the world's cultures, you find that there is an enormously rich set of behaviors and emotions and ways of construing the world
Video examples
Parthenon Battle PIPE...
received what he construed as permission to remove the marble friezes and take them home to England his partisans say he saved these stunning artworks from vandals who were pulling them apart without him they say the marbles
Video examples
Steven Pinker: Human...
everything is the opposite to the way it is here. But if you instead look at what is common to the world's cultures, you find that there is an enormously rich set of behaviors and emotions and ways of construing the world
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Perianne Boring
American Businesswoman
Exchanging bitcoin on behalf of ransomware victims should not be construed as criminal activity by the exchanger, not as a matter of law nor as sound policy. Such an interpretation would set a precedent that would surely cause real harm to the public, to the blockchain ecosystem, and to the financial services industry as a whole.
Quote examples
Joe Harris
American Athlete
Kyrie, he's got a big personality. He's one of these guys that's misunderstood. The way that he's construed in the media is probably going to paint him in a light that is not necessarily true. I'd say you could ask a lot of people that played with him and they'd all say that he's a great teammate and a good guy to be around.
Quote examples
Abraham Lincoln
American President
Our Declaration of Independence was held sacred by all and thought to include all; but now, to aid in making the bondage of the Negro universal and eternal, it is assailed, sneered at, construed, hawked at, and torn, till, if its framers could rise from their graves, they could not at all recognize it.
Quote examples
Edmund Husserl
German Philosopher
Psychologically experienced consciousness is therefore no longer pure consciousness; construed Objectively in this way, consciousness itself becomes something transcendent, becomes an event in that spatial world which appears, by virtue of consciousness, to be transcendent.
Quote examples
Saint Teresa of Avila
Spanish Saint
Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people's, if we are always criticizing trivial actions - which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives.
Quote examples
Ta-Nehisi Coates
American Journalist
The soul is part of the body. The mind is part of the body. When folks do physical violence to black people, to black bodies in this country, the soul as we construe it is damaged, too - the mind is damaged, too.
Quote examples
Ben Eine
English Artist
My work isn't overtly political, although it is sometimes painted in places where I don't have permission to paint, so that could be construed as a political statement.
Quote examples
Thomas Carlyle
Scottish Philosopher
Man's unhappiness, as I construe, comes of his greatness; it is because there is an Infinite in him, which with all his cunning he cannot quite bury under the Finite.
Quote examples
Paul Ricoeur
French Philosopher
If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are equal.
Quote examples
Susan Griffin
American Writer
Masculinity is a terrible problem, as we construe it and shape it.
Quote examples
Perianne Boring
American Businesswoman
Exchanging bitcoin on behalf of ransomware victims should not be construed as criminal activity by the exchanger, not as a matter of law nor as sound policy. Such an interpretation would set a precedent that would surely cause real harm to the public, to the blockchain ecosystem, and to the financial services industry as a whole.
Quote examples
Joe Harris
American Athlete
Kyrie, he's got a big personality. He's one of these guys that's misunderstood. The way that he's construed in the media is probably going to paint him in a light that is not necessarily true. I'd say you could ask a lot of people that played with him and they'd all say that he's a great teammate and a good guy to be around.
Quote examples
Abraham Lincoln
American President
Our Declaration of Independence was held sacred by all and thought to include all; but now, to aid in making the bondage of the Negro universal and eternal, it is assailed, sneered at, construed, hawked at, and torn, till, if its framers could rise from their graves, they could not at all recognize it.
Quote examples
Edmund Husserl
German Philosopher
Psychologically experienced consciousness is therefore no longer pure consciousness; construed Objectively in this way, consciousness itself becomes something transcendent, becomes an event in that spatial world which appears, by virtue of consciousness, to be transcendent.
Quote examples
Saint Teresa of Avila
Spanish Saint
Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people's, if we are always criticizing trivial actions - which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives.
Quote examples
Ta-Nehisi Coates
American Journalist
The soul is part of the body. The mind is part of the body. When folks do physical violence to black people, to black bodies in this country, the soul as we construe it is damaged, too - the mind is damaged, too.
Quote examples
Ben Eine
English Artist
My work isn't overtly political, although it is sometimes painted in places where I don't have permission to paint, so that could be construed as a political statement.
Quote examples
Thomas Carlyle
Scottish Philosopher
Man's unhappiness, as I construe, comes of his greatness; it is because there is an Infinite in him, which with all his cunning he cannot quite bury under the Finite.
Quote examples
Paul Ricoeur
French Philosopher
If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are equal.
Quote examples
Susan Griffin
American Writer
Masculinity is a terrible problem, as we construe it and shape it.
Example 1 of 10
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