be understood with

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase 'be understood with' is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when you want to express a shared understanding between two or more people. For example: His intentions were easily understood with her.

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

But this car can't be understood with statistics.

The New York Times

The bystander effect can be understood with an example: Imagine Jane, a member of an engineering team at a company.

Harvard Business Review

The average behaviour of the nuclear binding energy can be understood with the model of a charged liquid drop.

Britannica

It is found that acetonitrile does not react on the Ge(100 -2x1 surface at room temperature, a result that can be understood with thermodynamic and kinetic arguments.

Stanford University

She investigates how players themselves define cheating and how their playing choices can be understood, with particular attention to online cheating.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

An initiative housed within CIS, AIPP approaches AI as a fundamentally socio-technical phenomenon, one that must be understood with both normative depth and technical precision.

Cornell University

The load balancing arguments in Chapters 2, 3,4,5,6 and 10 only use combinatorial arguments and can be understood with a high-school knowledge of mathematics.

Stanford University

(Russia cannot be understood with the mind, / She cannot be measured by ordinary measure: / She has her own particular stance — /All you can do is believe in her).

The New Yorker

He's arguing against reductionism – the idea that mind and experience can be understood with a straight-up, scientific analysis of various parts.

The Guardian - Opinion

The electron tomography technique clarified the morphology of the graphitized particles, although the images should be understood with other crystallographic measurements.

Carbon

These two complicated tasks "required skill and setting goals," and offered "hidden patterns for success that could only be understood with patience and confidence".

The New York Times - Books

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "be understood with" when you want to emphasize the tool, method, or context that enables comprehension. Ensure the accompanying element clearly provides that understanding.

Common error

Avoid using "be understood with" when the agent doing the understanding is missing or unclear. The phrase necessitates a clear connection to what facilitates the understanding.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "be understood with" functions as a passive construction, indicating that something is made comprehensible through a specific means or tool. It shifts the focus from the subject actively understanding to the method by which understanding is achieved. Ludwig AI confirms its usability in written English.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

54%

News & Media

18%

Academia

16%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

4%

Formal & Business

2%

Wiki

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "be understood with" is a grammatically sound and frequently employed passive construction. As verified by Ludwig AI, its primary function is to emphasize the method, context, or instrument by which comprehension is facilitated. It is commonly found in scientific, academic, and news-related domains, suggesting a neutral to formal register. When using this phrase, it is crucial to ensure that the 'with' element clearly provides the means of understanding. Alternatives like "be grasped through" or "be comprehended via" offer nuanced variations for expressing similar ideas.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

be grasped through

Focuses more on the method of understanding something, emphasizing the process.

be comprehended via

Highlights the medium or channel through which understanding is facilitated.

be interpreted using

Emphasizes the tools or framework employed in the interpretation process.

be clarified by means of

Focuses on how something becomes clearer or more understandable through specific means.

be deciphered with the aid of

Highlights the assistance or support needed to understand something complex or obscure.

be appreciated in light of

Shifts the focus to valuing or recognizing the significance of something when considering a specific context.

be viewed through the lens of

Emphasizes a particular perspective or viewpoint influencing understanding.

be conceptualized within

Highlights the framework in which a concept is formed and understood.

be perceived in connection with

Focuses on how understanding arises from recognizing the relationship between different elements.

be known through

Emphasizes the path or method by which knowledge or understanding is acquired.

FAQs

How can I use "be understood with" in a sentence?

Use "be understood with" to show that something can be comprehended by means of a particular method, tool, or perspective. For example, "The complex equation can "be understood with" the help of a visual representation."

What phrases are similar to "be understood with"?

Alternatives include phrases such as "be grasped through", "be comprehended via", or "be interpreted using", depending on the specific nuance you wish to convey.

Is it correct to say "is understood with"?

Yes, "is understood with" is grammatically correct, and the phrase "be understood with" is versatile and can be used with auxiliary verbs such as 'is', 'can', 'should', etc., depending on the intended meaning.

How does "be understood with" differ from "be understood by"?

"Be understood with" emphasizes the means or method facilitating comprehension, whereas "be understood by" indicates who or what is doing the understanding. For example, "The concept can "be understood with" a simple analogy" (method) versus "The concept is understood by experts" (agent).