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read

To read is to scan and understand letters and words, making sense of language. You can also read into something, interpreting a meaning.

Usually a verb, read can also be a noun, as in “That book is a quick read.” There are several different roots credited with being the ancestor of read, each with different meanings. One meant "to counsel and advise," which might remind you of having your fortune read by a fortune teller, while another meant "gather up," which is what you do with the information a book you read contains.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: read

1
 vn
look at, interpret, and say out loud something that is written or printed
something that is read
2
 v
have or contain a certain wording or form
3
 v
interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves, intestines, the sky; also of human behavior
4
 v
obtain data from magnetic tapes
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: read
1

v look at, interpret, and say out loud something that is written or printed

“The King will read the proclamation at noon”
Types:
numerate
read out loud as words written numbers
dictate
say out loud for the purpose of recording
call
read aloud to check for omissions or absentees
Type of:
mouth, speak, talk, utter, verbalise, verbalize
express in speech

v interpret something that is written or printed

“read the advertisement”
“Have you read Salman Rushdie?”
Synonyms
say
have or contain a certain wording or form
Types:
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anagram, anagrammatise, anagrammatize
read letters out of order to discover a hidden meaning
reread
read anew; read again
dip into
read selectively; read only certain passages from a text
decipher, trace
read with difficulty
skim, skim over
read superficially
lip-read, lipread, speech-read
interpret by lipreading; of deaf people
Type of:
construe, interpret, see
make sense of; assign a meaning to

v make sense of a language

“Can you read Greek?”
Synonyms:
interpret, translate, understand
Type of:
understand
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of

v be a student of a certain subject

“She is reading for the bar exam”
Synonyms:
learn, study, take
Types:
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audit
attend academic courses without getting credit
prepare, train
undergo training or instruction in preparation for a particular role, function, or profession
drill, exercise, practice, practise
learn by repetition
apprentice
be or work as an apprentice
retrain
train again
drill
undergo military training or do military exercises

v audition for a stage role by reading parts of a role

Type of:
audition, try out
perform in order to get a role

n something that is read

“the article was a very good read”
Type of:
publication
a copy of a printed work offered for distribution
2

v have or contain a certain wording or form

“The passage reads as follows”
Synonyms:
say
Type of:
feature, have
have as a feature

v indicate a certain reading; of gauges and instruments

“The gauge read `empty'”
Synonyms:
record, register, show
Types:
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say
indicate
show
give evidence of, as of records
strike
indicate (a certain time) by striking
attest
establish or verify the usage of
surcharge
show an omission in (an account) for which credit ought to have been given
Type of:
indicate
to state or express briefly
3

v interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves, intestines, the sky; also of human behavior

“She read the sky and predicted rain”
“I can't read his strange behavior”
“The fortune teller read his fate in the crystal ball”
Synonyms
take
interpret something in a certain way; convey a particular meaning or impression
Types:
scry
divine by gazing into crystals
Type of:
anticipate, call, forebode, foretell, predict, prognosticate, promise
make a prediction about; tell in advance

v interpret something in a certain way; convey a particular meaning or impression

“I read this address as a satire”
Synonyms:
take
Types:
misinterpret, misread
interpret wrongly
Type of:
construe, interpret, see
make sense of; assign a meaning to

v to hear and understand

“I read you loud and clear!”
Synonyms
take
interpret something in a certain way; convey a particular meaning or impression
Type of:
understand
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
4

v obtain data from magnetic tapes

“This dictionary can be read by the computer”
Synonyms:
scan
Types:
misread
read or interpret wrongly
Type of:
construe, interpret, see
make sense of; assign a meaning to
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