3 meanings
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1 —as in:
interpret Spanish to English
Definition
to translate words into spoken words of another language(This word is especially used in place of translate when the translation is done real-time, or on-the-fly, or immediately as needed.)
- Can she interpret Spanish to English for us?
interpret = translate
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- She will stand to his left and interpret his speech into sign language.
- Given enough time, I can translate, but I'm not fluent enough to interpret for a conversation.
- She is an interpreter who works at the United Nations.
- Will you use software or a person for interpretation.
- We will each speak in our own language and each bring our own interpreter to minimize confusion.
- The actor Basil Rathbone had admired it so much that with the help of an interpreter the two of them had developed something of a friendship.Arthur Golden -- Memoirs of a Geisha
- A German officer accompanied by a Hungarian lieutenant interpreter, came up and introduced himself.Elie Wiesel -- Night
- In the morning an interpreter was found, and they were taken and put upon a car, and taught a new word—"stockyards."Upton Sinclair -- The Jungle
- Signor Pastrini interpreted the question and answer, and the horses galloped off.Alexandre Dumas -- The Count of Monte Cristo
interpret = translate
interpret = translate
interpreter = someone who translates language
interpretation = translation
interpreter = someone who translates language
interpreter = someone who translates language
interpreter = someone who translates language
interpreter = someone who translates language
interpreted = translated
2 —as in:
her interpretation of the data
Definition
to understand or explain something in a particular way — often the meaning or significance of something- I don't know how to interpret her smile.
interpret = understand (In this case: Why did she smile? What does it mean?)
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- How will a court interpret the word careless if there is a lawsuit?
- How did you interpret the last scene of the movie?
- The two sides disagree on how that clause of the contract should be interpreted.
- I like to try to interpret dreams.
- I prefer interpretive questions to those that merely ask for a fact.
- She interpreted the verb "judge" as "to pass sentence", but he had meant it as "to discern or to see fine distinctions".
- Mr. Wandati did have, for instance, a habit of correcting my manner of speech with an air of superiority that could be interpreted, perhaps not wrongly, as arrogance.Khaled Hosseini -- And The Mountains Echoed
- And sometimes people don't know whether to interpret silence as confidence or fear.Kiera Cass -- The Selection
- [of a particular kind of smile] Its advantage is that men can interpret it however they want; you can imagine how often I've relied on it.Arthur Golden -- Memoirs of a Geisha
interpret = understand (what does it mean exactly?)
interpret = understand or explain (in this case, perhaps the meaning or significance of the scene)
interpreted = understood or explained (In this case, exactly what does it mean in this context?)
interpret = understand or explain (In this case, the meaning or significance of the dream.)
interpretive = relating to understanding or explaining something in a particular way
interpreted = understood
interpreted = understood (in a particular way)
interpret = understand (something in a particular way)
interpret = understand the meaning of
3 —as in:
her musical interpretation
Definition
express personal artistic ideas or feelings while performing (or performing to) someone else's work- Rather than record the songs herself, she likes to write them and let other musicians interpret them.
interpret = expresses personal artistic ideas or feelings while performing someone else's work
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- She interprets others' music in an original way.
- The piece was written to be happy, but I completely missed that in her interpretation.
- She won the interpretive dance contest.
- I loved her interpretation of Lady Macbeth.
- If I can't do my interpretive dance, I don't want to dance with anyone.Edward Albee -- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- He felt as if a polite but insistent stage-manager were attempting to make him give a new interpretation of a part he had conned for years.F. Scott Fitzgerald -- This Side of Paradise
- Some interpretive dance.Rick Riordan -- The Blood of Olympus
- When the concert was over.... The professional elocutionist, Mrs. Evans, came and chatted with her, telling her that she had a charming voice and "interpreted" her selections beautifully.Lucy Maud Montgomery -- Anne Of Green Gables
- There was a proper consumption of strong waters all along the line; one man invariably went on the stage highly stimulated, claiming that his particular interpretation of the part required it.F. Scott Fitzgerald -- This Side of Paradise
interprets = expresses personal artistic ideas or feelings while performing (or performing to) someone else's work
interpretation = an artists performance of another artist's work that expresses the performer's feelings or ideas about the work
interpretive = related to expressing personal artistic ideas or feelings while performing (or performing to) someone else's work
interpretation = an artists performance of another artist's work that expresses the performer's feelings or ideas about the work
interpretive = expressing personal artistic ideas while performing another's work
interpretation = an artists performance of another artist's work that expresses the performer's feelings or ideas about the work
interpretive = expressing personal artistic ideas while performing another's work
interpreted = expressed personal artistic ideas or feelings while performing someone else's work
interpretation = an artists performance of another artist's work that expresses the performer's feelings or ideas about the work