What does construe mean?
Word: Construe
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Construe means to understand or explain the meaning of words or actions in a particular way.
Synonyms: interpret, understand, read, take
Antonyms: misread, misinterpret
Word origin: From Latin, from a verb meaning to pile up or build.
How do you spell construe?
Syllables: con - strue
Tricky part: It ends in -ue, like true and glue, not -ew or -oo.
Watch out for: constrew, constroo, constru
Memory tip: To construe a remark is to work out its true meaning, and construe ends with the same -ue as true.
Construe in a sentence
Example 1: Her silence was construed as agreement.
Example 2: Please don't construe my question as criticism.
Example 3: Our teacher asked us how we construe the last line of the poem.
Fun Fact
In old school lessons, to construe a Latin sentence meant to translate it word by word, explaining how each part fitted the grammar.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
It is easy to ___ a short text message as rude when the sender was only in a hurry.
a) conspire
b) consume
c) construe
d) console
Show answer
c) construe. Consume is to use up, conspire is to plot and console is to comfort; reading a meaning into words is to construe.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) contrue : interpret
b) conceal : hide
c) gather : collect
d) vanish : disappear
Show answer
a) contrue : interpret. Each pair joins two words of similar meaning, but the reading-a-meaning verb needs an s after con.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. construe 2. ponder 3. assert a. to state firmly b. to read a certain meaning into c. to think about carefully
a) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Show answer
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. To construe is to read a meaning into something, to ponder is to think it over and to assert is to state it firmly.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with construe?
a) shampoo
b) through
c) canoe
d) sew
Show answer
d) sew. Sew is said like so, so it does not rhyme; canoe, shampoo and through all end with the oo sound of construe.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If your joke was construed as rude, people ___.
a) wrote it down
b) took it to mean something rude
c) did not hear it
d) laughed at it loudly
Show answer
b) took it to mean something rude
2. Lawyers often argue about how to construe ___.
a) the weight of a parcel
b) the height of a wall
c) the words of a contract
d) the colour of a car
Show answer
c) the words of a contract
