interpretation
How you understand
Interpretation is the act of explaining or making sense of something.
A translator offers an interpretation of a foreign text; a musician offers an interpretation of a sonata.
In law, interpretation determines what statutes or contracts mean: The court's interpretation of the amendment proved controversial.
An interpretation can be one of several possible readings—your interpretation of events may differ from mine.
Quality of mattering
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
- sensePerception or judgment
nuance · subtext · symbolism · construal · reading · hermeneutics · semantics · exegesis
Established by enacted law
- constitutionalHealth-promoting walk
- judicialOf courts and judges
- originalismInterpreting by founding-era meaning
- textualismInterpreting law literally
precedent · ruling · construction · doctrine · strict · liberal · narrow · broad
Making meaning plain
- elucidationAct of explaining clearly
- explicationDetailed interpretive analysis
- expositionSystematic explanatory presentation
- commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
annotation · gloss · decoding · unpacking · demystification · rendering · account · paraphrase
Temporarily holding position
- renditionPerformed version of work
- portrayalDepiction of someone
- recitalSolo musical performance
- executionCompleting a planned task
delivery · enactment · staging · characterization · improvisation · reading · monologue · soliloquy
Way of seeing things
- angleGeometric measure of rotation
- standpointPosition for judgment
- lensLight-focusing curved glass
- vantagePosition of advantage
outlook · framework · slant · bias · paradigm · worldview · mindset · prism
Facts for analysis
- statisticsCollected numerical information
- evaluationDetermining worth or quality
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
inference · deduction · correlation · regression · qualitative · quantitative · research · methodology
Interpretive depiction or performance
- bilingualSpeaking two languages
- localizationAdapting for specific markets
- subtitlesOn-screen dialogue text
- dubbingPost-production sound replacement
equivalence · transliteration · adaptation · idiomatic · literal · faithful · free · source
significance
Quality of mattering
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
sense · nuance · subtext · symbolism · construal · reading · hermeneutics · semantics · exegesis · understanding
statutory
Established by enacted law
- constitutionalHealth-promoting walk
- judicialOf courts and judges
- originalismInterpreting by founding-era meaning
textualism · precedent · ruling · construction · doctrine · strict · liberal · narrow · broad · legislative
clarification
Making meaning plain
- elucidationAct of explaining clearly
- explicationDetailed interpretive analysis
- expositionSystematic explanatory presentation
commentary · annotation · gloss · decoding · unpacking · demystification · rendering · account · paraphrase · simplification
acting
Temporarily holding position
execution · delivery · enactment · staging · characterization · improvisation · reading · monologue · soliloquy · theater
viewpoint
Way of seeing things
- angleGeometric measure of rotation
- standpointPosition for judgment
- lensLight-focusing curved glass
vantage · outlook · framework · slant · bias · paradigm · worldview · mindset · prism · filter
data
Facts for analysis
- statisticsCollected numerical information
- evaluationDetermining worth or quality
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
diagnosis · inference · deduction · correlation · regression · qualitative · quantitative · research · methodology · findings
rendering
Interpretive depiction or performance
- bilingualSpeaking two languages
- localizationAdapting for specific markets
- subtitlesOn-screen dialogue text
dubbing · equivalence · transliteration · adaptation · idiomatic · literal · faithful · free · source · target
- literary studiescriticism, literary history, modernism, literary movements, literary themes
- art criticismart criticism, review, art critic, critique, analysis
- critical essaysart critique, analysis, close reading, explication, evaluation
- professional judgmentdiagnosis, prognosis, assessment, evaluation, recommendation
- languagelanguage, word, words, grammar, spelling
- humanitiesphilosophy, history, literature, philosophy class, novels
interpretationraw data
Unanalyzed collected information
bare facts · the facts · source material · face value · primary source
interpretationmisinterpretation
Incorrect understanding of meaning
misunderstanding · misreading · confusion · obfuscation · complication
interpretationliteral meaning
Exact, non-figurative interpretation
literal translation · plain meaning · face value · letter of the law · denotation
- biblical interpretationAnalyzing sacred text meaning
- dream interpretationAnalyzing nocturnal vision symbolism
- literal interpretationTaking words at face value
- modern interpretationPresent-day understanding of something
- creative interpretationFlexible reading of material
- artistic interpretationSubjective creative understanding
misinterpretation, interpretative, interpretations, reinterpretation, reinterpretations, interpretational