INTERPRETATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does interpretation mean? 

• INTERPRETATION (noun)
  The noun INTERPRETATION has 4 senses:

1. a mental representation of the meaning or significance of something

2. the act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance

3. an explanation that results from interpreting something

4. an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious

  Familiarity information: INTERPRETATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INTERPRETATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A mental representation of the meaning or significance of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

interpretation; reading; version

Hypernyms ("interpretation" is a kind of...):

internal representation; mental representation; representation (a presentation to the mind in the form of an idea or image)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interpretation"):

reinterpretation (a new or different meaning)

anagoge (a mystical or allegorical interpretation (especially of Scripture))

Derivation:

interpret (make sense of; assign a meaning to)

interpret (give an interpretation or explanation to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

interpretation; rendering; rendition

Context example:

her rendition of Milton's verse was extraordinarily moving

Hypernyms ("interpretation" is a kind of...):

performance (the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interpretation"):

spin (a distinctive interpretation (especially as used by politicians to sway public opinion))

reinterpretation (a new or different interpretation)

Derivation:

interpret (give an interpretation or explanation to)

interpret (create an image or likeness of)

interpret (give an interpretation or rendition of)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An explanation that results from interpreting something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

the report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence

Hypernyms ("interpretation" is a kind of...):

account; explanation (a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interpretation"):

misinterpretation; mistaking; misunderstanding (putting the wrong interpretation on)

popularisation; popularization (an interpretation that easily understandable and acceptable)

reconstruction (an interpretation formed by piecing together bits of evidence)

construction; twist (an interpretation of a text or action)

reading (a particular interpretation or performance)

version (an interpretation of a matter from a particular viewpoint)

literal interpretation (an interpretation based on the exact wording)

ijtihad (the endeavor of a Moslem scholar to derive a rule of divine law from the Koran and Hadith without relying on the views of other scholars; by the end of the 10th century theologians decided that debate on such matters would be closed and Muslim theology and law were frozen)

exegesis (an explanation or critical interpretation (especially of the Bible))

eisegesis (personal interpretation of a text (especially of the Bible) using your own ideas)

clarification; elucidation; illumination (an interpretation that removes obstacles to understanding)

construal (an interpretation of the meaning of something; the act of construing)

exposition; expounding (a systematic interpretation or explanation (usually written) of a specific topic)

Derivation:

interpret (make sense of; assign a meaning to)

interpret (give an interpretation or explanation to)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An explanation of something that is not immediately obvious

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

interpretation; interpreting; rendering; rendition

Context example:

often imitations are extended to provide a more accurate rendition of the child's intended meaning

Hypernyms ("interpretation" is a kind of...):

explanation (thought that makes something comprehensible)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interpretation"):

broad interpretation; judicial activism (an interpretation of the U.S. constitution holding that the spirit of the times and the needs of the nation can legitimately influence judicial decisions (particularly decisions of the Supreme Court))

Derivation:

interpret (make sense of; assign a meaning to)

interpret (give an interpretation or explanation to)

interpret (give an interpretation or rendition of)

 Context examples 

An interpretation of results of an experiment.

(Experimental Finding, NCI Thesaurus)

Having been subject to examination and interpretation.

(Analyzed, NCI Thesaurus)

GoMiner is a tool for biological interpretation of 'omic' data, including data from gene expression microarrays.

(GoMiner, NCI Thesaurus)

Areas of support are, but not limited to: study design, data collection, quality control and analysis, software and measurement error models development, statistical programming, and interpretation and dissemination of results.

(Epidemiology and Cancer Control Shared Resource, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by impairment of the auditory processing, resulting in deficiencies in the recognition and interpretation of sounds by the brain.

(Central Auditory Processing Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

The use of computers for the interpretation of medical images.

(Computer-Aided Diagnosis, NCI Thesaurus)

For clinical decision-making, the purposeful and ongoing acquisition, interpretation, and synthesis of patient data obtained from clinical trials.

(Clinical Trials, Monitoring, NCI Thesaurus)

This contrasts with the usual static image display and can assist in visual interpretation.

(Cine Display Mode, NCI Thesaurus)

But with Sousa-Silva's new paper, scientists can be confident in the interpretation of at least one molecule: phosphine.

(Poisonous Earthly Molecule May Be Sign of Extraterrestrial Life, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The surface texture has yet to be resolved simply because we are still too far away; any apparent brighter or darker regions may turn out to be false interpretations at this early stage.

(Rosetta Comet May Be a Contact Binary, NASA)