cause to be understood

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "cause to be understood" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when you want to express the act of making something clear or comprehensible to someone else. Example: "The teacher aimed to cause the complex theory to be understood by her students through various teaching methods."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

The term itself is a derivative from saṃ + jñā, meaning 'to understand,'toto be aware of,' or more appropriately 'to make intelligible' or 'to cause to be understood,' thus indicating the causative function of perception predicates.

SEP

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

Poor medication adherence has multifactorial causes that need to be understood before interventions can be designed to improve medication adherence [ 2].

BioMed Research International

This answer-that-isn't-an-answer evokes the Brando of "The Wild One," who, when asked what he is rebelling against, insolently says, "What have you got?," but this boy, Ryan Atwood Benjamin McKenziee), is closer to James Dean's troubled teen-ager in "Rebel Without a Cause," who wants only to be understood and to fit in.

The New Yorker

This answer-that-isn't-ananswer evokes the Brando of "The Wild One," who, when asked what he is rebelling against, insolently says, "What have you got?," but this boy, Ryan Atwood Benjamin McKenziee), is closer to James Dean's troubled teen-ager in "Rebel Without a Cause," who wants only to be understood and to fit in.

The New Yorker

The mechanisms that cause drug resistance need to be understood if we are to improve the efficacy of cancer treatment.

eLife

Irrespective of mechanistic causes involved (they remain to be understood), higher than wild-type levels of protein-derived 14C delivered to tissues of Ate1-deficient mice indicated the absence of significant defects in their transport of peptides and/or amino acids from GI tract.

Plosone

However, how loss of collagen VI causes mitochondrial dysfunction remains to be understood.

Human Molecular Genetics

However, ALP activity seemingly decreased with increased RA concentrations while the cause of this phenomenon remains to be understood.

Plosone

Although the underlying cause for this correlation remains to be understood, it is independent from associations with gene expression (Drummond et al. 2005; Yang et al. 2012) and protein domain density, which is similar to functional density (Wilson et al. 1977).

Genome Biology and Evolution

Alzheimer disease (AD) was originally conceived as a rare disease that caused presenile dementia but has come to be understood as the most prevalent cause of dementia at any age worldwide.

Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Third, pornography may silence women by causing their speech to fail to be understood, or to be misunderstood.

SEP

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "cause to be understood", ensure that the subject causing the understanding and the object being understood are clearly defined to avoid ambiguity. For instance, clarify "The teacher aimed to cause to be understood the complex theory" by specifying the method: "The teacher used visual aids to cause to be understood the complex theory".

Common error

Avoid using "cause to be understood" in unnecessarily complex sentences. Simpler phrasing, such as "clarify" or "explain", can often improve clarity and readability. For example, instead of saying "The convoluted explanation did not cause to be understood the core issue", consider "The convoluted explanation failed to clarify the core issue".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "cause to be understood" functions as a causative construction, where the primary function is to indicate that something or someone brings about a state of understanding in another party. Ludwig AI highlights this causative function based on its examples.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Science

60%

News & Media

20%

Encyclopedias

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "cause to be understood" is a grammatically correct phrase used to describe the action of making something comprehensible. Ludwig AI confirms its validity. It's most frequently found in formal contexts, like science and news, with sources like Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and The New Yorker using it. While acceptable, simpler alternatives such as "clarify" or "explain" may often be more appropriate for modern writing. When using the phrase, clarity in sentence structure is key to avoid convoluted expression.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

make comprehensible

This alternative focuses on the act of making something understandable, emphasizing the outcome.

make clear

A simple and direct way to express the act of ensuring understanding.

render intelligible

This phrase uses more formal language to convey the same idea of making something understandable.

clarify

A more concise alternative that emphasizes the act of making something clear.

elucidate

This suggests a more thorough explanation to ensure understanding.

illuminate

This alternative implies shedding light on a subject to enhance understanding.

explain

A straightforward alternative, focusing on providing information to facilitate understanding.

spell out

This implies explaining something in a very detailed and explicit manner.

get across

This idiomatic alternative focuses on successfully communicating an idea.

bring to light

This alternative suggests revealing information to enable understanding.

FAQs

What does "cause to be understood" mean?

The phrase "cause to be understood" means to make something clear or comprehensible to someone. It implies taking action to ensure that understanding occurs.

How can I use "cause to be understood" in a sentence?

You can use "cause to be understood" when you want to express the act of making something clear. For example: "The speaker used analogies to "make comprehensible" the complex economic theory and "cause to be understood" the basic principles."

What are some alternatives to "cause to be understood"?

Alternatives include "clarify", "explain", "elucidate", "make clear", or "render intelligible". The best choice depends on the context and desired level of formality.

Is "cause to be understood" formal or informal?

The phrase "cause to be understood" leans towards the formal side. In many situations, more direct verbs like "explain" or "clarify" are preferred for a more concise and less convoluted expression.