apprehend

Meaning

1. To be or become aware of (something); to perceive.
2. To acknowledge the existence of (something); to recognize.
3. To take hold of (something) with understanding; to conceive (something) in the mind; to become cognizant of; to understand.
4. To have a conception of (something); to consider, to regard.
5. To anticipate (something, usually unpleasant); especially, to anticipate (something) with anxiety, dread, or fear; to dread, to fear.
6. To seize or take (something); to take hold of.
7. To seize or take (a person) by legal process; to arrest.
8. (obsolete) To feel (something) emotionally.
9. (obsolete) To learn (something).
10. (obsolete) To take possession of (something); to seize.
11. To be of opinion, believe, or think; to suppose.
12. To understand.
13. To be apprehensive; to fear.

Hyphenated as

ap‧pre‧hend

Pronounced as (IPA)

/æpɹiˈhɛnd/

Etymology

From Late Middle English apprehenden (“to grasp, take hold of; to comprehend; to learn”), from Old French apprehender (modern French appréhender (“to apprehend; to catch; to dread”)), from Latin apprehendere, adprehendere, the present active infinitive of apprehendō, adprehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, take; to apprehend, arrest; to comprehend, understand; to embrace, include; to take possession of, obtain, secure”), from ap-, ad- (prefix meaning ‘to’) + prehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, snatch, take; to accost; to catch in the act, take by surprise; (figuratively, rare) of the mind: to apprehend, comprehend, grasp”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to hold, seize, take; to find”)).