interpret

interpret
    v 1: make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you
         see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?"
         [syn: {interpret}, {construe}, {see}]
    2: give an interpretation or explanation to [syn: {rede},
       {interpret}]
    3: give an interpretation or rendition of; "The pianist rendered
       the Beethoven sonata beautifully" [syn: {interpret},
       {render}]
    4: create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his
       wife as a young girl" [syn: {represent}, {interpret}]
    5: restate (words) from one language into another language; "I
       have to translate when my in-laws from Austria visit the
       U.S."; "Can you interpret the speech of the visiting
       dignitaries?"; "She rendered the French poem into English";
       "He translates for the U.N." [syn: {translate}, {interpret},
       {render}]
    6: make sense of a language; "She understands French"; "Can you
       read Greek?" [syn: {understand}, {read}, {interpret},
       {translate}]
    

Interpret \In*ter"pret\, v. i.
   To act as an interpreter. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Interpret \In*ter"pret\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Interpreted}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Interpreting}.] [F. interpr[^e]ter, L.
   interpretari, p. p. interpretatus, fr. interpres interpeter,
   agent, negotiator; inter between + (prob.) the root of
   pretium price. See {Price}.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To explain or tell the meaning of; to expound; to
      translate orally into intelligible or familiar language or
      terms; to decipher; to define; -- applied esp. to
      language, but also to dreams, signs, conduct, mysteries,
      etc.; as, to interpret the Hebrew language to an
      Englishman; to interpret an Indian speech.
      [1913 Webster]

            Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
                                                  --Matt. i. 23.
      [1913 Webster]

            And Pharaoh told them his dreams; but there was none
            that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. --Gen. xli.
                                                  8.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To apprehend and represent by means of art; to show by
      illustrative representation; as, an actor interprets the
      character of Hamlet; a musician interprets a sonata; an
      artist interprets a landscape.

   Syn: To translate; explain; solve; render; expound;
        elucidate; decipher; unfold; unravel.
        [1913 Webster]
    

88 Moby Thesaurus words for "interpret":
      accompany, annotate, answer, bottom, chord, clarify, clear up,
      comment, commentate, concertize, construe, crack, debug, decipher,
      decode, define, delineate, depict, describe, diagnose, disentangle,
      divine, do, dope, dope out, elucidate, execute, exemplify, explain,
      explicate, expound, fathom, figure out, find out, find the answer,
      find the solution, get, get right, gloss, guess, guess right,
      have it, hit it, illuminate, illustrate, image, limn, make music,
      make out, open the lock, paraphrase, perform, picture, play,
      play by ear, plumb, portray, psych, psych out, puzzle out, ravel,
      ravel out, read, read into, render, resolve, riddle, simplify,
      solve, sort out, spell out, symphonize, take, take it that,
      take to mean, translate, understand, understand by, undo, unlock,
      unravel, unriddle, unscramble, untangle, untwist, unweave, work,
      work out