fathom
To understand something after thinking about it very hard.
fathom in a sentence
- Try as he might, Oscar could not fathom how the coin had ended up inside the sealed jar.
- Nobody could fathom why the garden gnome kept appearing on a different doorstep each morning.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to fathom?
- Aunderstand
- Bmuddle
- Cconfuse
- Dmisunderstand
Show the answer
A: understand. The other three mean the opposite of fathom.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to fathom?
- Agrasp
- Bmisunderstand
- Cunderstand
- Dsolve
Show the answer
B: misunderstand. The other three mean nearly the same as fathom.
Words that mean something similar
understand, grasp, solve
Words that mean the opposite
misunderstand, muddle, confuse
More words about thinking & learning
- foresee: To know something will happen before it actually does.
- fundamental: Forming the most important base of something.
- heed: To pay careful attention to advice or a warning.
- ignorant: Not knowing about something, often because you have not been told or taught.
- illusion: Something that tricks your eyes or mind into believing what is not real.
- imaginative: Full of new and clever ideas.
- immerse: To put something completely under a liquid, or to get lost in an activity.
- improvise: To make or do something on the spot without preparing.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test