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apprehending

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apprehending


  1  definition  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Apprehend  \Ap`pre*hend"\  ([a^]p`pr[-e]*h[e^]nd"),  v.  t.  [imp.  & 
  p.  p.  {Apprehended};  p.  pr  &  vb  n.  {Apprehending}.]  [L. 
  apprehendere  ad  +  prehendere  to  lay  hold  of  seize;  prae 
  before  +  -hendere  (used  only  in  comp.);  akin  to  Gr 
  chanda`nein  to  hold  contain,  and  E.  get:  cf  F. 
  appr['e]hender.  See  {Prehensile},  {Get}.] 
  1.  To  take  or  seize;  to  take  hold  of  [Archaic] 
 
  We  have  two  hands  to  apprehend  it  --Jer.  Taylor. 
 
  2.  Hence:  To  take  or  seize  (a  person)  by  legal  process;  to 
  arrest;  as  to  apprehend  a  criminal. 
 
  3.  To  take  hold  of  with  the  understanding,  that  is  to 
  conceive  in  the  mind;  to  become  cognizant  of  to 
  understand;  to  recognize;  to  consider. 
 
  This  suspicion  of  Earl  Reimund  though  at  first  but 
  a  buzz,  soon  got  a  sting  in  the  king's  head,  and  he 
  violently  apprehended  it  --Fuller. 
 
  The  eternal  laws,  such  as  the  heroic  age  apprehended 
  them  --Gladstone. 
 
  4.  To  know  or  learn  with  certainty.  [Obs.] 
 
  G.  You  are  too  much  distrustful  of  my  truth.  E.  Then 
  you  must  give  me  leave  to  apprehend  The  means  and 
  manner  how  --Beau.  &  Fl 
 
  5.  To  anticipate;  esp.,  to  anticipate  with  anxiety,  dread,  or 
  fear;  to  fear. 
 
  The  opposition  had  more  reason  than  the  king  to 
  apprehend  violence.  --Macaulay. 
 
  Syn:  To  catch;  seize;  arrest;  detain;  capture;  conceive; 
  understand;  imagine;  believe;  fear;  dread. 
 
  Usage:  To  {Apprehend},  {Comprehend}.  These  words  come  into 
  comparison  as  describing  acts  of  the  mind.  Apprehend 
  denotes  the  laying  hold  of  a  thing  mentally,  so  as  to 
  understand  it  clearly,  at  least  in  part  Comprehend 
  denotes  the  embracing  or  understanding  it  in  all  its 
  compass  and  extent.  We  may  apprehended  many  truths 
  which  we  do  not  comprehend.  The  very  idea  of  God 
  supposes  that  he  may  be  apprehended,  though  not 
  comprehended,  by  rational  beings.  ``We  may  apprehended 
  much  of  Shakespeare's  aim  and  intention  in  the 
  character  of  Hamlet  or  King  Lear;  but  few  will  claim 
  that  they  have  comprehended  all  that  is  embraced  in 
  these  characters.''  --Trench. 




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