incomprehension en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English comprehension English incomprehension From in- + comprehension.
Meanings
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(uncountable) Lack of comprehension or understanding; inability to understand.
The aide gave the old men in Ward Two their medicine, and they joked with her. Shevek watched with dull incomprehension.
1974, Ursula Leguin, The Dispossessed:Simon broke off and turned to Piggy who was looking at him with an expression of derisive incomprehension.
1954, William Golding, Lord of the Flies:Stephen blushed; and his father looked from one to the other in a state of utter incomprehension.
1873, Thomas Hardy, A Pair of Blue Eyes:1995, Gary Wolf, "The Curse of Xanadu", Wired Magazine As a guest lecturer in Nelson's class, Miller ran through his ideas for a Xanadu-like software system. Afterward, he was approached by one of the students, Stuart Greene. Miller asked Greene what the reaction to his ideas had been. Not so good, Greene informed him. As always, the class had listened in dumb incomprehension. They seldom understood what Nelson was talking about […]
(...) and the wearied worker, borne at evening through crowded undergrounds, might read his name with a listless incomprehension.
1901, M. P. Shiel, The Lord of the Sea:
Antonyms
Deriveds
incomprehensible · incomprehensive
Translations (7)
ru непонима́ние (lack of comprehension) · it incomprensione (lack of comprehension) · fr incompréhension (lack of comprehension) · hu értetlenség (lack of comprehension) · uk нерозумі́ння (lack of comprehension) · ja 無理解 (lack of comprehension) · pl niezrozumienie (lack of comprehension)