interpret
verb OPAL WOPAL S
/ɪnˈtɜːprət/
/ɪnˈtɜːrprət/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they interpret | /ɪnˈtɜːprət/ /ɪnˈtɜːrprət/ |
| he / she / it interprets | /ɪnˈtɜːprəts/ /ɪnˈtɜːrprəts/ |
| past simple interpreted | /ɪnˈtɜːprətɪd/ /ɪnˈtɜːrprətɪd/ |
| past participle interpreted | /ɪnˈtɜːprətɪd/ /ɪnˈtɜːrprətɪd/ |
| -ing form interpreting | /ɪnˈtɜːprətɪŋ/ /ɪnˈtɜːrprətɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] interpret something to explain the meaning of something
- The students were asked to interpret the poem.
- The data can be interpreted in many different ways.
- These results must be interpreted cautiously.
Extra Examples- judges who will faithfully interpret the Constitution
- These figures cannot be easily interpreted.
- We all seek to interpret what we hear and what we read.
- The figure of the Ancient Mariner has been variously interpreted.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- accurately
- correctly
- properly
- …
- be difficult to
- be hard to
- be able to
- …
- as
- be interpreted to mean something
- be variously interpreted (as something)
- be widely interpreted as something
- …
- [transitive] to decide that something has a particular meaning and to understand it in this way
- interpret something as something I didn't know whether to interpret her silence as acceptance or refusal.
- interpret something The research focused on how parents interpret the behaviour of their toddlers.
Extra Examples- Different people might interpret events differently.
- The title could be interpreted to mean ‘human intelligence’.
- The term ‘business’ is here interpreted broadly to include all types of organization in the public and private sectors.
- Her message was interpreted as a warning to the general.
- Her resignation has been widely interpreted as an admission of her guilt.
- The strictness of the rules, even when liberally interpreted, has the effect of restricting innovation.
- It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- accurately
- correctly
- properly
- …
- be difficult to
- be hard to
- be able to
- …
- as
- be interpreted to mean something
- be variously interpreted (as something)
- be widely interpreted as something
- …
- [intransitive, transitive] to translate one language into another as it is spoken
- He took me with him to interpret in case no one spoke English.
- interpret for somebody She couldn't speak much English so her children had to interpret for her.
- interpret something Interpreters must interpret everything that is said in the interaction.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- accurately
- correctly
- properly
- …
- be difficult to
- be hard to
- be able to
- …
- as
- be interpreted to mean something
- be variously interpreted (as something)
- be widely interpreted as something
- …
- [transitive] interpret something to perform a piece of music, a role in a play, etc. in a way that shows your feelings about its meaning
- He interpreted the role with a lot of humour.
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French interpreter or Latin interpretari ‘explain, translate’, from interpres, interpret- ‘agent, translator, interpreter’.