construing
Making sense of
Construing is interpreting or understanding something in a particular way.
The word emphasizes the act of making sense of words, actions, or situations: She was construing his silence as disapproval.
Legal and academic contexts often use construing when analyzing how texts should be read: The court was construing the statute narrowly.
Extracting meaning from something
- readingInterpreting written text
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- decipheringInterpreting coded information
- parsingGrammatical structure extraction
explicating · elucidating · unpacking · decoding · translating · glossing · rendering · expounding
What something signifies
- significanceQuality of mattering
- sensePerception or judgment
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
implication · nuance · subtext · context · semantics · signification · import · purport
Deriving meaning indirectly
- deducingConcluding from evidence
- concludingBringing to an end
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- surmisingInferring without certainty
extrapolating · deriving · reasoning · discerning · perceiving · apprehending · grasping · divining
Formally deciding disputes
- rulingFormal legal determination
- determiningEstablishing with certainty
- applyingPutting into use
- legislative intentLawmakers' goal in enacting
precedent · contractual · jurisprudence · case law · tribunal · adjudication
interpreting
Extracting meaning from something
- readingInterpreting written text
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- decipheringInterpreting coded information
parsing · explicating · elucidating · unpacking · decoding · translating · glossing · rendering · expounding · clarifying
meaning
What something signifies
- significanceQuality of mattering
- sensePerception or judgment
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
denotation · implication · nuance · subtext · context · semantics · signification · import · purport · tenor
inferring
Deriving meaning indirectly
- deducingConcluding from evidence
- concludingBringing to an end
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
surmising · extrapolating · deriving · reasoning · discerning · perceiving · apprehending · grasping · divining · supposing
adjudicating
Formally deciding disputes
- rulingFormal legal determination
- determiningEstablishing with certainty
- applyingPutting into use
legislative intent · precedent · contractual · jurisprudence · case law · tribunal · adjudication
- interpretationinterpretive dance, translation, interpreting, translating, rendition
- graspinggrasping, apprehending, comprehending, understanding, catching
construingobscuring
Making less visible
confusing · obfuscating · muddling · garbling · distorting
construingignoring
Deliberately not noticing
disregarding · overlooking · neglecting · dismissing · bypassing
construct, construction, infrastructure, reconstruct, constructed, constructive, reconstruction, constructing, construe