Basic Details
Word: Interpretation
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: An explanation of what something means; also the way a person understands or performs a song, role or text.
Synonyms: explanation, reading, understanding, version
How to Spell Interpretation
Syllables: in - ter - pre - ta - tion
Tricky part: After inter comes pre, not per, and the verb interpret then takes ation. Swapping pre to per is the most common slip.
Watch out for: interpertation, interpritation, interpretetion
Memory tip: Watch the swap trap: write pre after inter - inter-pre-ta-tion - and say all five beats aloud as you write.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Each student gave a different interpretation of the poem's last line.
Example 2: The dancer's interpretation of the old story moved the audience.
Example 3: Sign-language interpretation was provided during the Independence Day speech.
Fun Fact
Interpret comes from Latin interpres, a go-between or agent. An interpreter still stands between two people who do not share a language.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix given to make a real word. Choose it:
Suffix: ation
a) admit
b) decide
c) conclude
d) interpret
Show answer
d) interpret. Interpret + ation gives interpretation; decide, admit and conclude make their nouns with sion: decision, admission, conclusion.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The guide's interpertation of the carvings on the temple wall was so lively that the tourists from Japan stayed long after the tour had ended.
a) tourists
b) lively
c) carvings
d) interpertation
Show answer
d) interpertation. Inter-pre: the r comes after the p, not before it.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to interpretation as used in the sentence:
The two lawyers had a completely different interpretation of the same rule.
a) reward
b) rejection
c) reading
d) repetition
Show answer
c) reading. Each lawyer understood the rule in a different way; that is their reading of it.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An interpreter at a meeting ____.
a) arranges the chairs before the meeting
b) serves food and drinks to the guests
c) keeps time and rings the bell at the end
d) turns speech from one language into another
Show answer
d) turns speech from one language into another
2. Dream interpretation is an attempt to ____.
a) record dreams on video
b) stop people dreaming
c) make dreams longer
d) explain what dreams mean
Show answer
d) explain what dreams mean
