to apprehend
118
6.1
- verb
- /ˌæprɪˈhɛnd/
- Formal
:
detener
- The police were able to apprehend the suspect after a long chase through the streets.
- apprehend the perpetrator
- apprehend criminals
- apprehend a suspect
No, but the same person he was, he was apprehended the next day.
- No, but the same person he was, he was apprehended the next day.
- And when I came off the plane, they apprehended me for a while.
- We had to go and kick someone's door in, raid their house, perhaps apprehend or detain, you know, the man of the house, take him in for questioning.
- Because this man, the suspect, the man who was apprehended, who left that rifle on the scene along with backpacks and a scope and a GoPro.
- He was Australian and Canadian and here hit that was the guy that that they were able to apprehend.
- Now this is like we've all let's let's say this as it is with all these terrorists and insurgents, we out there to first of all, ideally apprehend.
Examples
-
We apprehended an armed man, Special Agent Alex Thomas.
-
"People know that when they try to cross the border, they are going to get apprehended," she says.
Academic text (2011) -
"Good God, why have we waited this long to apprehend this monster?"
Fiction book (1990) -
But he did land and they were able to, you know, apprehend him and put him in handcuffs.
-
Now I can help you apprehend Mr. Littlefield.
-
Two suspects have been apprehended in this robbery.
-
"And these are the men who are trying to apprehend this crazed madman?"
Fiction book (2002) -
We just wanted you to know that we've apprehended the man responsible for your wife's murder.
-
Last year alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities apprehended some 540,000 would-be migrants along the Southwest border.
Academic text (2011) -
Ladies and gentlemen, three weeks ago, Russian and American Special Forces apprehended the self-proclaimed leader of Kazakhstan, General Ivan Radek.
Synonyms
∞
3.4
To detain someone and take them to the police station
884
2.8
To catch and take control of someone or something after a chase
169
5.9
To keep someone with the police for questioning
130
8.0
To catch someone for a crime, often while they are doing it
125
3.9
To take someone to the police because they are suspected of a crime
40
5.8
Catch someone suddenly to stop or arrest them
6
6.1
To grab someone by the neck or shirt to stop them
Antonyms
How Forceful
33
3.8
884
2.8
- Formal
118
6.1
- Formal
156
4.6
136
3.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
apprehend = ap + prehend
The visible parts are Latin combining forms (ap- + prehend) that are not productive standalone English morphemes, so learners cannot reliably infer the legal sense 'to arrest' from the components.
Etymology
The word apprehend comes from the old Latin verb apprehendere, made of ad- 'to' and prehendere 'to seize'. So, it originally meant to 'take hold of', which explains why apprehend can mean 'to arrest' someone.