apprehend

/ˌæprɪˈhend/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌæprɪˈhend/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌa-pri-ˈhend/ (ame, mw)

apprehend — verb

1. If police or another authority apprehends a person, they find that person and ta

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

If police or another authority apprehends a person, they find that person and take them into legal custody, usually because the person is suspected of breaking the law.

例句

Two officers apprehended the suspect outside a small petrol station near Hsinchu.

subject is law-enforcement: officers apprehended + [suspect]

The robber was apprehended at the airport before he could board his flight to Manila.

passive: be apprehended at/before + [location/event]

同義詞
  • arrest

    more common and slightly less formal; 'apprehend' often implies the catching as well as the arrest

  • detain

    to hold someone temporarily, often without formal charges; 'apprehend' implies actually catching them first

  • capture

    stresses the act of seizing, often used for fugitives or escaped prisoners

反義詞

文法句型

apprehend + [person]

be apprehended by + [authority]

用法筆記

Subject is almost always a law-enforcement body (police, customs, federal agents) and the object is a person suspected of wrongdoing. Frequently appears in the passive (be apprehended). More formal than 'catch' or 'arrest', and typical in news reporting and legal documents.

常見錯誤

❌The teacher apprehended the noisy children.
✅The teacher caught the noisy children.
💡'apprehend' here implies legal arrest by authority; for a teacher catching kids, use 'catch'.
❌The dog apprehended the thief in the garden.
✅The dog cornered the thief in the garden until officers arrived.
💡only people with legal authority can apprehend someone.

2. to take in the meaning or significance of something, especially an abstract idea

2.動詞及物C1
釋義

to take in the meaning or significance of something, especially an abstract idea or a situation, so that you can see clearly what it involves — for example, finally seeing why a poem is sad, or grasping the size of a problem.

例句

Students rarely apprehend the full beauty of the poem on a first reading.

object is an abstract noun: apprehend + [the beauty/meaning/significance]

Only later did Mei apprehend how serious her grandfather's illness really was.

apprehend + wh-clause (how/why/what)

同義詞
  • grasp

    very close in meaning but neutral in register; works in everyday speech

  • comprehend

    also formal; emphasises full mental processing rather than sudden insight

  • perceive

    stresses becoming aware through the senses or intuition, not just intellectual understanding

反義詞

文法句型

apprehend + [idea/situation]

apprehend that + clause

apprehend how/why/what + clause

用法筆記

Object is typically an abstract concept (meaning, significance, scale, beauty) or a clause introduced by 'how', 'why', 'what', or 'that'. Distinguish from sense 1 (ARREST): this sense never takes a person as object. Mostly used in academic, philosophical, or literary writing — in everyday speech, native speakers say 'understand' or 'grasp'.

常見錯誤

❌I apprehend you.
✅I understand you.
💡'apprehend' is too formal for ordinary conversation and sounds odd with a person as object in this sense.
❌She apprehended the new software in one afternoon.
✅She mastered the new software in one afternoon.
💡'apprehend' is for grasping meaning, not for learning a practical skill.