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to prehend

to prehend

9.9
To understand an idea or its meaning
  • verb
  • /prɪˈhɛnd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : comprender
  • She tried to prehend the subtle meanings of the poem by reading it several times.

Examples

  • During the discussion, it was clear that he struggled to prehend the implications of the new policy changes.

  • Consciousness, according to Whitehead's analysis, is a "subjective form," meaning that it is how certain data are prehended. And it is a subjective form that illumines only a few of an occasion of experience's prehensions.

    Academic text (1991)
  • "In other words, what do successor actual entities prehend as the basis for their own self-constitution?

    Academic text (2005)
  • On the other hand, the mind reciprocally influences what happens in the brain and the rest of the body in that its form or pattern of self-constitution is at every moment "prehended" first by the neuronal actual occasions and then by all the other actual occasions at work within the human person.

    Academic text (2005)
  • But he did say that this aspect of God (which is really God as a whole) influences the world, which means that the individuals of the world prehend it (1978, 351). His position, accordingly, allows in principle for the possibility that one could have knowledge of the truth about the past by prehending the consequent nature of God. D. Divine Influence

    Academic text (1991)
  • But he did say that this aspect of God (which is really God as a whole) influences the world, which means that the individuals of the world prehend it (1978, 351). His position, accordingly, allows in principle for the possibility that one could have knowledge of the truth about the past by prehending the consequent nature of God. D. Divine Influence

    Academic text (1991)
  • The teacher encouraged students to prehend the complex concepts in their science lesson through hands-on experiments.

Synonyms

to grab
vsto prehend
102 1.6

To get someone's attention suddenly and strongly

is a general mental or sensory grasp rather than a sudden capture
to seize
vsto prehend
68 3.8

Grab and hold someone's attention suddenly and strongly

is broader and means mental or sensory grasp not only attention

Antonyms

1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

How Clear

to prehend
  • Archaic
9.9
to perceive
83 3.7
to notice
1.0

Surface Forms

prehend infinitive
prehended past
prehended past participle
prehending present participle
prehends third person singular

Etymology

Prehend comes from the Latin prehendere, which means 'to seize' or 'to grasp' and is the root of comprehend. So to prehend with the mind is like 'grasping' an idea, which explains why it can mean understanding or taking in with the senses.