How to Use understanding in a Sentence

understanding

1 of 2 noun
  • She has a basic understanding of the process.
  • I hope to get a clearer understanding of the issues involved.
  • He has a thorough understanding of the subject.
  • We have an understanding that whoever cooks doesn't have to do the dishes.
  • She treats them with kindness and understanding.
  • He seems to have little understanding of our situation.
  • This is what caused a lot of the trouble in the first place—a lack of understanding of zealotry.
    Noel Murray, Chron, 10 Apr. 2023
  • Less so was their understanding of the route to get there.
    Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2020
  • What is your understanding of the threat level in the days ahead?
    CBS News, 17 Jan. 2021
  • At the root of the problem is a lack of understanding of Kerr’s switch-heavy system.
    Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, 1 Jan. 2021
  • To be a member of the team, the swimmers must have an understanding of the four major strokes.
    Emmett Hall, sun-sentinel.com, 3 Sep. 2020
  • That gap in understanding has only widened the hole in his heart.
    Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Nov. 2022
  • Riders should have an understanding of what the torque of their e-bike is.
    Jenna Ryu, USA TODAY, 11 Aug. 2020
  • Your understanding of time is finer than the rest of us.
    Daniyal Mueenuddin, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2021
  • People tend to end up at the same place, which is an understanding.
    Jackie Bryant, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2021
  • The work the artist made near the end of his life changed my understanding of both beauty and suffering.
    New York Times, 23 Sep. 2020
  • Because of the disorder, his understanding of the world was in black and white.
    C.j. Holmes, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Apr. 2022
  • In the decades since, there was a fragile understanding.
    Washington Post, 18 June 2021
  • This logic is flawed, even with the most basic understanding of the facts.
    Lawrence G. Keane, National Review, 13 Aug. 2021
  • And what sorts of understanding might be gained in fifty thoughtless years?
    Zach Williams, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022
  • One who can walk into a room of his/her peers and already have a strong understanding of how the cheese is made.
    John Canzano, oregonlive, 28 Apr. 2021
  • For years, scientists just had to leave those pages — and their understanding of the genome — blank.
    NBC News, 31 Mar. 2022
  • There’s a pent-up rage in this music, but an understanding of the dead-end nature of rage, too.
    John Adamian, courant.com, 26 July 2019
  • King thanked all the artists who stepped in to fill her slots and the radio station sponsors for understanding.
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 9 Dec. 2022
  • But an understanding not to let tensions get even worse would be a start.
    Stephen Collinson, CNN, 15 Nov. 2021
  • How does this change the narrator’s understanding of the man?
    Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Aquarius: These two have an understanding of how to enjoy the lighter things in life.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 29 Dec. 2022
  • Many modern astrologers use the stars to gain a deeper understanding of the self.
    Emily Simone, Allure, 29 Oct. 2020
  • But its understanding of the location of a train is crude.
    William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 2 July 2018
  • And artistic insight can help to frame our understanding of the brain.
    Daniel Glaser, A-LIST, 1 July 2018
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understanding

2 of 2 adjective
  • A few years ago, the White Sox fan base might not have been quite so understanding.
    Jared Diamond, WSJ, 26 July 2017
  • Be willing to lend a kind ear and be your most understanding self.
    Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2023
  • Also, to the new owners of the babies, who have all been very understanding.
    People Staff, PEOPLE.com, 22 July 2022
  • Rather than taking a stand, try to be more understanding.
    Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, 28 Oct. 2020
  • Here are some tips for better understanding how your kid did this school year and how to better support their progress in the fall.
    Alia Wong, USA TODAY, 12 June 2023
  • Continue to reach out to your son in a loving and understanding way.
    cleveland, 6 Feb. 2022
  • This is a new Charlotte — a smarter and more understanding Charlotte.
    Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 20 July 2023
  • First, though, there has to be more understanding and options.
    Bill Weir, CNN, 25 July 2021
  • So the pandemic taught me to love people more, to be more up close and personal, and to be more understanding.
    Darlene Aderoju, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2022
  • Through it all, the patients have not always been very understanding.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2022
  • My professors are very understanding and know how much Mapis means to me.
    Jill Griffin, Forbes, 20 June 2022
  • Some people look at us weird or are not always understanding or nice.
    Julia Sclafani, Daily Pilot, 30 Sep. 2019
  • And what a lucky little girl to be born into such a loving and understanding family.
    cleveland, 21 Mar. 2020
  • But one of the good surprising things is that customers can be very understanding and have empathy too.
    Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 5 May 2022
  • No one in my sphere wasn’t accepting and understanding.
    Marc Jacobs, Vogue, 13 June 2022
  • The hardest thing for me, working on this project, was understanding dairy production.
    Noor Brara, Vogue, 15 June 2018
  • The Covid-19 pandemic has stretched and stressed everyone to the max and, along the way, often led to a more understanding and compassionate workplace.
    Jason Richmond, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2021
  • People are generally very understanding about the need not to meet in person right now.
    Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2020
  • Even among understanding friends, language barriers can sometimes get in the way.
    Ida Lieszkovszky, cleveland.com, 5 Nov. 2017
  • Rather than taking offense when people are testy, try soothing words and be more understanding.
    oregonlive, 6 Aug. 2020
  • Then, be supportive and understanding during what is really the most challenging time of the year.
    Diane Kline & Jane Unger, Redbook, 30 Nov. 2012
  • What this admirable young person has no way of truly understanding, of course, is that in the nineties, every sincere emotion had to be conveyed through at least six layers of hair grease and spite.
    Rebecca Schuman, Longreads, 28 Mar. 2018
  • Luckily, Sami was very understanding and gave me a lot of guidance.
    Aliannah Shalikar, oregonlive, 1 Aug. 2022
  • Your goal here is to listen more, ask the right follow-up questions and be extremely understanding of their frustrations.
    Expert Panel, Forbes, 15 June 2022
  • One set is pretty understanding; the other set is extremely right-wing and over-the-top conservative.
    Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 16 Feb. 2022
  • Looking away is not a strategy for a more inclusive, more just and more understanding nation.
    David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 June 2023
  • Instead, my friends were super understanding, supportive and felt bad for me.
    Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2022
  • Claire has a doula, day care, Obamacare breast pump, tenure-track job, several therapists and the world’s most understanding husband.
    Amanda Hess, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2022
  • There’s reason to believe that the pandemic may push employers to be more understanding.
    Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 1 June 2020
  • Your 3-year-old is understanding notions like opposites (big versus small and old versus new), time of day and matching objects.
    New York Times, 18 Apr. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'understanding.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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