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Definition of interpret verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

interpret

verb
 
/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/
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  1. [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
    verb + interpret
    • be difficult to
    • be hard to
    • be able to
    preposition
    • as
    phrases
    • be interpreted to mean something
    • be variously interpreted (as something)
    • be widely interpreted as something
    See full entry
  2. [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.
    compare misinterpret
    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.
    • His resignation has been widely interpreted as an admission of his 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
    verb + interpret
    • be difficult to
    • be hard to
    • be able to
    preposition
    • as
    phrases
    • be interpreted to mean something
    • be variously interpreted (as something)
    • be widely interpreted as something
    See full entry
  3. [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
    verb + interpret
    • be difficult to
    • be hard to
    • be able to
    preposition
    • as
    phrases
    • be interpreted to mean something
    • be variously interpreted (as something)
    • be widely interpreted as something
    See full entry
  4. [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.
  5. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French interpreter or Latin interpretari ‘explain, translate’, from interpres, interpret- ‘agent, translator, interpreter’.
See interpret in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee interpret in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
perspective
noun
 
 
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