incomprehension
Failure to understand
Incomprehension is failure or inability to understand something.
Where *misunderstanding* suggests grasping the wrong meaning, incomprehension suggests grasping no meaning at all: She stared at the equations in complete incomprehension.
The word often describes a reaction to something confusing or alien: His incomprehension of her grief was painful to witness.
State of being baffled
- puzzlementState of being baffled
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- perplexityMental state of confusion
- bafflementMental state of confusion
misunderstanding · nonplussed · mystified · befuddled · confounded · disorientation · uncertainty · vagueness
Displeasure from blocked efforts
- exasperationIntense weary annoyance
- helplessnessLacking ability to cope
- dismayDistressed loss of courage
- bafflementMental state of confusion
flummoxed · dumbfounded · speechless · stunned · discombobulated · flabbergasted · gobsmacked · dazed
State of not knowing
- unfamiliarityLack of prior knowledge
- inexperienceLack of prior exposure
- naivetyInnocent lack of experience
- obliviousnessLack of awareness
unknowing · uninformed · unenlightened · uninitiated · innocence · illiteracy · blind spot
Failed exchange of meaning
- misinterpretationIncorrect understanding of meaning
- lost in translationMeaning altered between languages
- talking pastFailing to connect conversationally
- language barrierMutual incomprehension across tongues
jargon · gibberish · incoherence · garbled · unclear · opaque · cryptic · impenetrable
bewilderment
State of being baffled
- puzzlementState of being baffled
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- perplexityMental state of confusion
bafflement · misunderstanding · nonplussed · mystified · befuddled · confounded · disorientation · uncertainty · vagueness · opacity
frustration
Displeasure from blocked efforts
- exasperationIntense weary annoyance
- helplessnessLacking ability to cope
- dismayDistressed loss of courage
bafflement · flummoxed · dumbfounded · speechless · stunned · discombobulated · flabbergasted · gobsmacked · dazed · overwhelmed
unawareness
State of not knowing
- unfamiliarityLack of prior knowledge
- inexperienceLack of prior exposure
- naivetyInnocent lack of experience
obliviousness · unknowing · uninformed · unenlightened · uninitiated · innocence · illiteracy · blind spot
miscommunication
Failed exchange of meaning
- misinterpretationIncorrect understanding of meaning
- lost in translationMeaning altered between languages
- talking pastFailing to connect conversationally
language barrier · jargon · gibberish · incoherence · garbled · unclear · opaque · cryptic · impenetrable · technical language
- misunderstandingsmisunderstanding, misinterpretation, misconception, misreading, miscommunication
- inattentiondistracted, spacing, absent-minded, distraction, obliviousness
- cluelessnessobliviousness, unawareness, ignorance, blankness, clueless
incomprehensioncomprehension
Mental understanding of meaning
understanding · grasp · apprehension · conception · grokking
incomprehensionawareness
State of perceiving reality
consciousness · appreciation · perception · recognition · cognition