Interpret meaning

What does “interpret” mean? Definitions, examples, synonyms and opposites.

“interpret” is a verb with 6 meanings. Its most common meaning is: make sense of; assign a meaning to.

interpret

verb

  1. make sense of; assign a meaning to

    “What message do you see in this letter?”

    “How do you interpret his behavior?”

    Synonymsconstruesee
  2. give an interpretation or explanation to

    Synonymsrede
  3. give an interpretation or rendition of

    “The pianist rendered the Beethoven sonata beautifully”

    Synonymsrender
  4. create an image or likeness of

    “The painter represented his wife as a young girl”

    Synonymsrepresent
  5. restate (words) from one language into another language

    “I have to translate when my in-laws from Austria visit the U.S.”

    “Can you interpret the speech of the visiting dignitaries?”

  6. make sense of a language

    “She understands French”

    “Can you read Greek?”

Source: WordNet 3.1, Princeton University