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Serving to unfold or explain; tending to lay open to the understanding; explanatory. Sir W. Hamilton.

ied merely, or conveyed by implication; distinctly stated; plain in language; open to the understanding; clear; not obscure or ambiguous; express; unequivocal; as, an explicit declaration. The language of the charter was too explicit to admit of a doubt. Bancroft.

to important moral truth. Faith, that is, fidelity, -- the fealty of the finite will and understanding to the reason. Coleridge.

he features of the landscape. And to her service bind each living creature Through secret understanding of their feature. Spenser.

etect (a thief); to discover (a secret) -- to solve or unriddle (a parable or enigma); to understand. "Canst thou by searching find out God" Job. xi. 7. "We do hope to find out all your tricks." Milton. -- To find fault with, to blame; to censure. -- To find one's self, to be; to fare; -- often used in speaking of he…

Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning. [Slang] Dickens.

upon while in progress, as a speech, musical performance, etc.; also, to keep up with; to understand the meaning, connection, or force of, as of a course of thought or argument. He followed with his eyes the flitting shade. Dryden.

One destitute of reason, or of the common powers of understanding; an idiot; a natural.

Marked with, or exhibiting, folly; void of understanding; weak in intellect; without judgment or discretion; silly; unwise. I am a very foolish fond old man. Shak.

To grope about in perplexity; to seek awkwardly; as, to fumble for an excuse. Dryden. My understanding flutters and my memory fumbles. Chesterfield. Alas! how he fumbles about the domains. Wordsworth.

The act of obtaining or acquiring; acquisition. With all thy getting, get understanding. Prov. iv. 7.

To cause; to make; -- with the infinitive; as, to give one to understand, to know, etc. But there the duke was given to understand That in a gondola were seen together Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica. Shak. To give away, to make over to another; to transfer. Whatsoever we employ in charitable uses during our lives, is…

g faith is "no more than a simple assent to the divine testimone passively recived by the understanding." The English and American adherents of this faith are called Sandemanians, after Robert Sandeman, the son-in-law and disciple of Glass.

ling powe; the administratian. When we, in England, speak of the government, we generally understand the ministers of the crown for the time being. Mozley & W.

One who understands the principles of harmony or is skillful in applying them in composition; a musical composer.

To understand. You have me, have you not Shak.

The seat of the intellect; the brain; the understanding; the mental faculties; as, a good head, that is, a good mind; it never entered his head, it did not occur to him; of his own head, of his own thought or will. Men who had lost both head and heart. Macaulay.

Destitute of understanding or prudence; foolish; rash; obstinate. [Obs.] Witless headiness in judging or headless hardiness in condemning. Spenser.

Understanding; mental faculty. Eumenes had the best headpiece of all Alexander's captains. Prideaux.

or separately, as love, hate, joy, grief, courage, and the like; rarely, the seat of the understanding or will; -- usually in a good sense, when no epithet is expressed; the better or lovelier part of our nature; the spring of all our actions and purposes; the seat of moral life and character; the moral affections and…