| v. t. | 1. | |
| 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.; | |
| 2. | To apprehend and represent by means of art; to show by illustrative representation; | |
| v. i. | 1. | To act as an interpreter. |
| Verb | 1. | interpret - make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?" |
| 2. | interpret - give an interpretation or explanation to | |
| 3. | interpret - give an interpretation or rendition of; "The pianist rendered the Beethoven sonata beautifully" Synonyms: render | |
| 4. | interpret - create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his wife as a young girl" Synonyms: represent | |
| 5. | interpret - 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." | |
| 6. | interpret - make sense of a language; "She understands French"; "Can you read Greek?" |