interpret
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to decide what the intended meaning of something is, such as a law, a dream, or someone's behavior.
to explain or establish the meaning or significance of something; to construe a particular sense from data, actions, or texts.
Simple“Different people might interpret the same statistics in very different ways.”
In context“The court was asked to interpret the ambiguous wording of the contract to determine if a breach of duty had occurred.”
UsageOften used with 'as' to describe the conclusion reached.
SynonymsAntonymsmisunderstandmisinterpret - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
to change spoken words from one language into another while someone is speaking.
to translate orally or into sign language the words of a speaker in real time or near real time.
Simple“She was hired to interpret for the visiting delegation during the factory tour.”
In context“A professional was required to interpret the witness's testimony for the jury, ensuring that every nuance of the dialect was accurately conveyed.”
UsageCan be used intransitively or with an object representing the language or speech.
PitfallShe translated the speech for the diplomat in real time. She interpreted the speech for the diplomat in real time.While 'translate' is a general term, 'interpret' specifically refers to oral or sign language translation performed as the speaker talks.
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
to perform a play, a piece of music, or a role in your own creative way.
to represent or render a work of art or a dramatic role according to one's personal conception of the creator's ideas.
Simple“The young pianist chose to interpret the piece much more slowly than usual.”
In context“Critics praised the way the lead actor chose to interpret the villain as a tragic figure rather than a simple monster.”
Teacher's tipIn this context, 'interpret' implies a level of creative choice by the performer.
- 04 C1 Advanced
to run a computer program by reading and following the instructions one by one.
to execute a program by translating and performing each instruction in sequence, rather than using a pre-compiled binary.
Simple“Some programming languages are interpreted by the computer rather than compiled into a file.”
In context“The script is interpreted line-by-line at runtime, which allows for greater flexibility but often results in slower execution speeds compared to compiled code.”
Antonyms
Usage cautiously interpret · correctly interpret · data interpret
“Understanding these differences could help pest control professionals and consumers better interpret what they see after putting out ant bait.”
“Scientists commonly interpret it as an early relative of mollusks.”
From Middle English interpreten, from Old French enterpreter, (French interpréter), from Latin interpretor (“to explain, expound, interpret”), past participle interpretatus, from interpres (“an agent, broker, explainer, interpreter, negotiator”), from inter (“between”) + -pres, probably the root of pretium (“price”); -pres is probably connected with Ancient Greek φράζειν (phrázein, “to point out, show, explain, declare, speak”), from which φραδή (phradḗ, “understanding”), φράσις (phrásis, “speech”); see phrase.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.