apprehended

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ap•pre•hend /ˌæprɪˈhɛnd/   v. [~ + object]

1. to take into custody;
   arrest:
   The police apprehended the burglars.
2. to grasp the meaning of;
   perceive:
   could apprehend the difference between the two words.

See -prehend-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ap•pre•hend  (ap′ri hend′), v.t. 

1. to take into custody;
   arrest by legal warrant or authority:
   The police apprehended the burglars.
2. to grasp the meaning of;
   understand, esp. intuitively;
   perceive.
3. to expect with anxiety, suspicion, or fear;
   anticipate:
   apprehending violence.

v.i. 

4. to understand.
5. to be apprehensive, suspicious, or fearful;
   fear.

• Latin apprehendere to grasp, equivalent. to ap- ap-¹ + prehendere to seize (pre- pre- + -hendere to grasp)
• Middle English apprehenden 1350–1400

ap′pre•hend′er, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

apprehend / ˌæprɪˈhɛnd/ verb

1. (transitive) to arrest and escort into custody; seize
2. to perceive or grasp mentally; understand
3. (transitive) to await with fear or anxiety; dread

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin apprehendere to lay hold of