Dictionary
un•der•stand•ing
Pronunciation: (un"dur-stan'ding), [key]—
n.
1. mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation:
My understanding of the word does not agree with yours.
2. intellectual faculties; intelligence; mind:
a quick understanding.
3. superior power of discernment; enlightened intelligence:
With her keen understanding she should have become a leader.
4. knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something:
an understanding of accounting practice.
5. a state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people:
To him, understanding and goodwill were the supreme virtues.
6. a mutual agreement, esp. of a private, unannounced, or tacit kind:
They had an understanding about who would do the dishes.
7. an agreement regulating joint activity or settling differences, often informal or preliminary in character:
After hours of negotiation, no understanding on a new contract was reached.
8. Philos.
a. the power of abstract thought; logical power.
b. Kantianism.the mental faculty resolving the sensory manifold into the transcendental unity of apperception.
—
adj.
characterized by understanding; prompted by, based on, or demonstrating comprehension, intelligence, discernment, empathy, or the like:
an understanding attitude. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
