construal

con·strue

 (kən-stro͞o′)

v. con·strued, con·stru·ing, con·strues

v.tr.

1. To understand or explain the meaning of (something), especially in a particular way; interpret: The waiter construed my smile as assent. The editorial construed the act as irresponsible. See Synonyms at explain.

2. Grammar

a. To analyze the structure of (a clause or sentence).

b. To use syntactically: The noun fish can be construed as singular or plural.

3. To translate, especially aloud.

v.intr.

1. To analyze grammatical structure.

2. To be subject to grammatical analysis.

n. (kŏn′stro͞o′)

An interpretation or translation.

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[Middle English construen, from Late Latin cōnstruere, from Latin, to build; see construct.]

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con·stru′al n.

construal

(kənˈstruːəl)

n

an act of construing

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

construal - an interpretation of the meaning of something; the act of construing interpretation - an explanation that results from interpreting something; "the report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence"