read between the lines


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read

 (rēd)
v. read (rĕd), read·ing, reads
v.tr.
1. To examine and grasp the meaning of (written or printed characters, words, or sentences).
2. To utter or render aloud (written or printed material): read poems to the students.
3. To have the ability to examine and grasp the meaning of (written or printed material in a given language or notation): reads Chinese; reads music.
4.
a. To examine and grasp the meaning of (language in a form other than written or printed characters, words, or sentences): reading Braille; reading sign language.
b. To examine and grasp the meaning of (a graphic representation): reading a map.
5.
a. To discern and interpret the nature or significance of through close examination or sensitive observation: The tracker read the trail for signs of game.
b. To discern or anticipate through examination or observation; descry: "I can read abandonment in a broken door or shattered window" (William H. Gass).
6. To determine the intent or mood of: can read your mind like a book; a hard person to read.
7.
a. To attribute a certain interpretation or meaning to: read her words differently than I did.
b. To consider (something written or printed) as having a particular meaning or significance: read the novel as a parable.
8. To foretell or predict (the future).
9. To receive or comprehend (a radio message, for example): I read you loud and clear.
10. To study or make a study of: read history as an undergraduate.
11. To learn or get knowledge of from something written or printed: read that interest rates would continue to rise.
12. To proofread.
13. To have or use as a preferred reading in a particular passage: For change read charge.
14. To indicate, register, or show: The dial reads 32°.
15. Computers To obtain (data) from a storage medium, such as an optical disc.
16. Genetics To decode or translate (a sequence of messenger RNA) into an amino acid sequence in a polypeptide chain.
v.intr.
1. To examine and grasp the meaning of printed or written characters, as of words or music.
2. To speak aloud the words that one is reading: read to the children every night.
3. To learn by reading: read about the storm in the paper today.
4. To study.
5. To have a particular wording: Recite the poem exactly as it reads.
6. To contain a specific meaning: As the law reads, the defendant is guilty.
7. To indicate, register, or show a measurement or figure: How does your new watch read?
8. To have a specified character or quality for the reader: Your poems read well.
n. Informal
1. Something that is read: "The book is a page-turner as well as a very satisfying read" (Frank Conroy).
2. An interpretation or assessment: gave us her read of the political situation.
adj. (rĕd)
Informed by reading; learned: only sparsely read in fields outside my profession.
Phrasal Verbs:
read out
To read aloud: Please read out the names on the list.
read up
To study or learn by reading: Read up on the places you plan to visit before you travel.
Idioms:
read a lecture/lesson
To issue a reprimand: My parents read me a lecture because I had neglected my chores.
read between the lines
To perceive or detect an obscure or unexpressed meaning: learned to read between the lines of corporate annual reports to discern areas of fiscal weakness.
read out of
To expel by proclamation from a social, political, or other group: was read out of the secretariat after the embarrassing incident.

[Middle English reden, from Old English rǣdan, to advise; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]
Word History: English is the one of the few western European languages that does not derive its verb for "to read" from Latin legere. Compare, for example, leggere in Italian, lire in French, and lesen in German. (Equally surprising is the fact that English is the only western European language not to derive its verb for "to write" from Latin scrībere.) Read comes from the Old English verb rǣdan, "to advise, interpret (something difficult), interpret (something written), read." Rǣdan is related to the German verb raten, "to advise" (as in Rathaus, "town hall"). The Old English noun rǣd, "counsel," survives in the rare noun rede, "counsel, advice" and in the name of the unfortunate King Ethelred the Unready, whose epithet is often misunderstood. Unready here does not have its current sense "unprepared"; it is a late 16th-century spelling of an earlier unredy, "ill-advised, rash, foolish," from rede.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

read between the lines

To understand something that is not explicit but implied.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.read between the lines - read what is implied but not expressed on the surface
construe, interpret, see - make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
يَقرأ بين الأسْطُريَقْرأ ما بيْنَ السُّطور، يَسْتَنْتِج
číst mezi řádky
læse mellem linierne
olvas a sorok közöttolvas: a sorok között olvas
lesa á milli línanna
čítať medzi riadkami
dilinin altındakini keşfetmekgizli/kapalı anlamı sezmek/ anlamakne kasdedildiğini anlamaksatır aralarını okumak

line1

(lain) noun
1. (a piece of) thread, cord, rope etc. She hung the washing on the line; a fishing-rod and line.
2. a long, narrow mark, streak or stripe. She drew straight lines across the page; a dotted/wavy line.
3. outline or shape especially relating to length or direction. The ship had very graceful lines; A dancer uses a mirror to improve his line.
4. a groove on the skin; a wrinkle.
5. a row or group of objects or persons arranged side by side or one behind the other. The children stood in a line; a line of trees.
6. a short letter. I'll drop him a line.
7. a series or group of persons which come one after the other especially in the same family. a line of kings.
8. a track or direction. He pointed out the line of the new road; a new line of research.
9. the railway or a single track of the railway. Passengers must cross the line by the bridge only.
10. a continuous system (especially of pipes, electrical or telephone cables etc) connecting one place with another. a pipeline; a line of communication; All (telephone) lines are engaged.
11. a row of written or printed words. The letter contained only three lines; a poem of sixteen lines.
12. a regular service of ships, aircraft etc. a shipping line.
13. a group or class (of goods for sale) or a field of activity, interest etc. This has been a very popular new line; Computers are not really my line.
14. an arrangement of troops, especially when ready to fight. fighting in the front line.
verb
1. to form lines along. Crowds lined the pavement to see the Queen.
2. to mark with lines.
lineage (ˈliniidʒ) noun
ancestry.
linear (ˈliniə) adjective
of, consisting of or like a line or lines.
lined adjective
having lines. lined paper; a lined face.
ˈliner noun
a ship or aircraft of a regular line or company. They sailed to America in a large liner.
lines noun plural
the words an actor has to say. He had difficulty remembering his lines.
ˈlinesman (ˈlainz-) noun
in sport, a judge or umpire at a boundary line.
hard lines!
bad luck!.
in line for
likely to get or to be given something. He is in line for promotion.
in/out of line with
in or out of agreement with. His views are out of line with those of his colleagues.
line up
1. to form a line. The children lined up ready to leave the classroom; She lined up the chairs.
2. to collect and arrange in readiness. We've lined up several interesting guests to appear on the programme (noun ˈline-up).
read between the lines
to understand something (from a piece of writing etc) which is not actually stated.

read

(riːd) past tense, past participle read (red) verb
1. to look at and understand (printed or written words or other signs). Have you read this letter?; Can your little girl read yet?; Can anyone here read Chinese?; to read music; I can read (= understand without being told) her thoughts/mind.
2. to learn by reading. I read in the paper today that the government is going to cut taxes again.
3. to read aloud, usually to someone else. I read my daughter a story before she goes to bed; I read to her before she goes to bed.
4. to pass one's time by reading books etc for pleasure etc. I don't have much time to read these days.
5. to study (a subject) at a university etc.
6. to look at or be able to see (something) and get information from it. I can't read the clock without my glasses; The nurse read the thermometer.
7. to be written or worded; to say. His letter reads as follows: `Dear Sir, ...'
8. (of a piece of writing etc) to make a (good, bad etc) impression. This report reads well.
9. (of dials, instruments etc) to show a particular figure, measurement etc. The thermometer reads –5C.
10. to (cause a word, phrase etc to) be replaced by another, eg in a document or manuscript. There is one error on this page – For `two yards', read `two metres'; `Two yards long' should read `two metres long'.
noun
the act, or a period, of reading. I like a good read before I go to sleep.
ˈreadable adjective
(negative unreadable).
1. easy or pleasant to read. I don't usually enjoy poetry but I find these poems very readable.
2. able to be read. Your handwriting is scarcely readable.
ˈreadableness noun
ˌreadaˈbility noun
ˈreader noun
1. a person who reads books, magazines etc. He's a keen reader.
2. a person who reads a particular newspaper, magazine etc. The editor asked readers to write to him with their opinions.
3. a reading-book, especially for children or for learners of a foreign language. a Latin reader.
ˈreadership noun
the (number of) people who read a newspaper, magazine etc.
ˈreading noun
1. the act of reading.
2. the reading of something aloud, as a (public) entertainment. a poetry reading.
3. the ability to read. The boy is good at reading.
4. the figure, measurement etc on a dial, instrument etc. The reading on the thermometer was –5 C.
reading-
1. for the purpose of reading. reading-glasses; a reading-room in a library.
2. for learning to read. a reading-book.
ˈreading material noun
a list of books, stories, articles etc that need to be read for one's studies.
ˈreading matter noun
something written for others to read (eg books, newspapers, letters). There's a lot of interesting reading matter in our local library.
ˈread-outplural ˈread-outs noun
data produced by a computer, eg on magnetic or paper tape.
read between the lines
to look for or find information (eg in a letter) which is not actually stated.
read off
to read from a dial, instrument etc. The engineer read off the temperatures one by one.
read on
to continue to read; to read further. He paused for a few moments, and then read on.
read out
to read aloud. Read out the answers to the questions.
read over/through
to read from beginning to end. I'll read through your manuscript, and let you know if I find any mistakes.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Now, go, Sarah; go at once, and tell everybody what you've read between the lines. Tell them Billy is a jailbird and that I am a bad woman whom all men desire.
To reveal who he really was would even at this date set the country in a blaze; but as those who read between the lines must already have guessed, he had been at a famous public school; and its traditions still clung to him like garments, with which indeed they are largely concerned.
What a starved, unloved life she had had--a life of drudgery and poverty and neglect; for Marilla was shrewd enough to read between the lines of Anne's history and divine the truth.
The countess's silence had subdued and depressed her, but the letter, all that she read between the lines in it, so exasperated her, this malice was so revolting beside her passionate, legitimate tenderness for her son, that she turned against other people and left off blaming herself.