# apprehend

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˌæpɹɪˈhɛnd/ · frequency rank #28,118

## Definitions
1. To be or become aware of (something); to perceive.
2. To acknowledge the existence of (something); to recognize.
3. To take hold of (something) with understanding; to conceive (something) in the mind; to become cognizant of; to understand.
4. To have a conception of (something); to consider, to regard.
5. To anticipate (something, usually unpleasant); especially, to anticipate (something) with anxiety, dread, or fear; to dread, to fear.
6. To seize or take (something); to take hold of.
7. To seize or take (a person) by legal process; to arrest.
8. To feel (something) emotionally.
9. To learn (something).
10. To take possession of (something); to seize.
11. To be of opinion, believe, or think; to suppose.
12. To understand.
13. To be apprehensive; to fear.

## Etymology
From Late Middle English apprehenden (“to grasp, take hold of; to comprehend; to learn”), from Old French apprehender (modern French appréhender (“to apprehend; to catch; to dread”)), from Latin apprehendere, adprehendere, the present active infinitive of apprehendō, adprehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, take; to apprehend, arrest; to comprehend, understand; to embrace, include; to take possession of, obtain, secure”), from ap-, ad- (prefix meaning ‘to’) + prehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, snatch, take; to accost; to catch in the act, take by surprise; (figuratively, rare) of the mind: to apprehend, comprehend, grasp”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to hold, seize, take; to find”)).

## Easily confused with
- **apprehended** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/apprehend-vs-apprehended)

## Common misspellings (12)
`apperhend`, `appreehnd`, `apprehedn`, `apprehendd`, `apprehennd`, `apprehhend`, `apprehned`, `apprheend`, `apprrehend`, `aprehend`, `aprpehend`, `paprehend`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/apprehend