interpretation
n. C / Un. an explanation of what something means, or the way you understand it. It can also describe how a musician or actor performs a piece of art to show their own style.
n. the act of explaining or understanding the meaning of a text, action, or concept. It also refers to a performer's stylistic representation of a creative work.
Her interpretation of the poem was very different from mine.
The lawyer argued that a strict interpretation of the contract did not allow the company to fire his client without warning.
The pianist's radical interpretation of the sonata divided critics, with some praising its emotional depth and others condemning its departure from the composer's original tempo markings.
From Middle English interpretacioun, from the Anglo-Norman form of Old French interpretacion, from Latin interpretātiō, noun of action from interpretor (“to explain, expound, interpret, understand, conclude, infer, comprehend”). Morphologically interpret + -ation.
Countable when referring to a specific explanation or performance; uncountable when referring to the general process of explaining meaning.