construe

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: con=strue

CIDE DICTIONARY

construe, v. t. [L. construere: cf. F. construire. See Construct.].

•  To apply the rules of syntax to (a sentence or clause) so as to exhibit the structure, arrangement, or connection of, or to discover the sense; to explain the construction of; to interpret; to translate.  [1913 Webster]
•  To put a construction upon; to explain the sense or intention of; to interpret; to understand.  [1913 Webster]

  "Thus we are put to construe and paraphrase our own words to free ourselves either from the ignorance or malice of our enemies."  [1913 Webster]

  "And to be dull was construed to be good."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

construe, v.tr. (construes, construed, construing)
1 interpret (words or actions) (their decision can be construed in many ways).
2 (often foll. by with) combine (words) grammatically ('rely' is construed with 'on').
3 analyse the syntax of (a sentence).
4 translate word for word.

Derivative

construable adj. construal n.

Etymology

ME f. L construere construct

THESAURUS

construe

English, define, describe, diagnose, explicate, expound, interpret, read, read into, render, spell out, take, take it that, take to mean, transcribe, translate, transliterate, turn into, understand, understand by

ROGET THESAURUS

construe

Interpretation

VB interpret, explain, define, construe, translate, render, do into, turn into, transfuse the sense of, find out, 1 the meaning of, read, spell out, make out, decipher, unravel, disentangle, find the key of, enucleate, resolve, solve, read between the lines, account for, find the cause, tell the cause of, throw light upon, shed light upon, shed new light upon, shed fresh light upon, clear up, clarify, elucidate, illustrate, exemplify, unfold, expound, comment upon, annotate, popularize, take in a particular sense, understand in a particular sense, receive in a particular sense, accept in a particular sense, understand by, put a construction on, be given to understand.