CEFR C1

fathom

verb

Meaning

To understand a difficult problem or a mysterious person after much thought, or to measure the depth of water.

Examples

I could not fathom why he suddenly quit his well-paying job.
The scientists used sonar to fathom the true depth of the Mariana Trench.

Synonyms: understand, comprehend, grasp, decipher

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fathom (C1)

verb

Pronunciation: /ˈfæðəm/

Definition

To understand a difficult problem or a mysterious person after much thought, or to measure the depth of water.

Examples

I could not fathom why he suddenly quit his well-paying job.
The scientists used sonar to fathom the true depth of the Mariana Trench.
It's hard to fathom the sheer scale of the universe.

How to Use fathom

fathom out (phrasal verb): To figure out or solve a complicated problem or mystery. — "It took him hours to fathom out how the new software worked."

Synonyms of fathom

Words with a similar meaning to fathom:

Antonyms of fathom

Words with the opposite meaning to fathom:

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