To construe a remark or an action is to understand it in a particular way — to take a meaning from it. “She construed his silence as agreement” means she took the silence to mean he agreed, whether or not that was fair. The usual pattern is construe something as something.

To construe a remark or an action is to understand it in a particular wayconstrue一句話或一個動作，就是用某種特定的方式去理解它——to take a meaning from it從中取出一個意思，"She construed his silence as agreement"「She construed his silence as agreement」means she took the silence to mean he agreed意思是她把他的沉默理解成他同意了，whether or not that was fair不管那樣理解公不公平。The usual pattern is常見的句型是，construe something as somethingconstrue something as something（把某件事理解成某件事）。

It is a formal word. In daily talk, people say understand, take, or read as.

It is a formal word這是一個正式的字。In daily talk日常說話時，people say understand, take, or read as大家會說understand、take，或read as。

You will meet construe in essays, news, and legal language, often when someone is warning you not to take their words the wrong way: “Do not construe this as a threat.” Because it comes from the same Latin parent as construct (“to pile together”), the old picture is that you are putting pieces together to make a meaning.

You will meet construe in essays, news, and legal language你會在文章、新聞和法律語言裡遇到construe，often when someone is warning you not to take their words the wrong way常常是有人在提醒你別誤會他的話，"Do not construe this as a threat."「Do not construe this as a threat.」Because it comes from the same Latin parent as construct ("to pile together")因為它跟construct（「堆疊在一起」）源自同一個拉丁字根，the old picture is that you are putting pieces together to make a meaning古早的畫面是你把一片片東西堆在一起、拼出一個意思。

There is also an older school use: to construe a Latin sentence meant to work out how the parts fit. Today, the “take it to mean” sense is the one you will actually hear.

There is also an older school use學校裡還有一個較舊的用法，to construe a Latin sentence meant to work out how the parts fitto construe a Latin sentence意思是弄清楚句子各部分怎麼組合。Today現在，the "take it to mean" sense is the one you will actually hear「理解成什麼意思」這個意思才是你實際會聽到的。