1. (

• interpretation ,
• interpreting ,
• rendition ,
• rendering

) an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious; "the edict was subject to many interpretations"; "he annoyed us with his interpreting of parables"; "often imitations are extended to provide a more accurate rendition of the child's intended meaning" ;

1. (

• interpret ,
• construe ,
• see ,

) make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?" ;

2. (

• rede ,
• interpret

) give an interpretation or explanation to ;

3. (

• interpret ,
• render ,

) give an interpretation or rendition of; "The pianist rendered the Beethoven sonata beautifully" ;

4. (

• represent ,
• interpret ,

) create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his wife as a young girl" ;

5. (

• translate ,
• interpret ,
• render ,

) restate (words) from one language into another language; "I have to translate when my in-laws from Austria visit the U.S."; "Can you interpret the speech of the visiting dignitaries?"; "She rendered the French poem into English"; "He translates for the U.N." ;

6. (

• understand ,
• read ,
• interpret ,
• translate

) make sense of a language; "She understands French"; "Can you read Greek?" ;