understood

understood — adjective

  • understoodpositive
  • more understoodcomparative
  • most understoodsuperlative

1. If an idea, message, or rule is understood, the people involved know exactly wha

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

If an idea, message, or rule is understood, the people involved know exactly what it means.

Example

By Friday, the new safety steps were clearly understood by every nurse.

clearly understood + by phrase

After Meera read the map twice, the route was finally understood.

Common collocations
  • clearly understood
  • fully understood
  • widely understood
  • understood by everyone
Synonyms
  • grasped

    suggests the meaning was caught after some mental effort

  • comprehended

    more formal than understood

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be + understood

clearly/fully/widely + understood

Usage Note

Often appears after adverbs such as clearly, fully, and widely. Common with information, rules, instructions, and messages.

2. If a condition or plan is understood, everyone involved has accepted it and expe

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

If a condition or plan is understood, everyone involved has accepted it and expects it to be followed.

Example

It was understood that Dario would pay the rent on Monday.

it was understood that + clause

Under the understood terms, late orders were shipped at no extra cost.

understood + terms

Common collocations
  • understood terms
  • understood condition
  • understood arrangement
  • it was understood that
Synonyms
  • agreed

    more common in everyday speech

  • settled

    suggests the matter is final

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

it is understood that...

understood + noun

Usage Note

Common in contracts, rules, and business arrangements. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense usually grows out of an actual agreement, not just a shared assumption.

3. If something is understood, nobody says it directly, but everyone knows it from

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

If something is understood, nobody says it directly, but everyone knows it from the situation.

Example

At Hannah's dinner table, it was understood that phones stayed in bags.

it was understood that for silent house rule

Ilan's raised hand was an understood signal that the meeting should end.

understood signal from gesture

Common collocations
  • understood rule
  • understood signal
  • it is understood that
  • silently understood
Synonyms
  • implied

    focuses on meaning that can be inferred

  • tacit

    more formal than understood

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

it is understood that...

understood + rule/signal

Usage Note

Often introduces an unspoken rule or expectation. Distinguish from sense 2: the meaning is inferred from context rather than formally agreed.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Understood' is the broad word for meaning that people have already taken in correctly. 'Clear' describes the message itself as easy to understand, so it focuses on the quality of the explanation rather than the listener's result. 'Agreed' belongs to sense 2, where both sides have accepted a plan or condition. 'Implied' belongs to sense 3, where the meaning is present without being spoken directly. A rule can be clear before anyone reads it, understood after people grasp it, agreed when both sides accept it, and implied when nobody says it aloud.

understood ↗clear ↗agreed ↗implied ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • understood terms
  • understood condition
  • understood rule
  • understood signal

Adverbs

  • clearly understood
  • fully understood
  • widely understood
  • mutually understood

Phrases

  • it is understood that
  • it was understood that

Prepositions

  • understood by everyone
  • understood between both sides

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Understood' is the past participle of 'understand'. The older English verb came from Old English forms built on the idea of standing among or beneath something in order to grasp it. Over time, that physical image developed into the modern mental meaning of knowing what something means.

First known use

1607

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 2