The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Construe \Con*strue\ (?; Archaic ?), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   Construed; p. pr. & vb. n. Construing.] [L. construere:
   cf. F. construire. See Construct.]
   1. To apply the rules of syntax to (a sentence or clause) so
      as to exhibit the structure, arrangement, or connection
      of, or to discover the sense; to explain the construction
      of; to interpret; to translate.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To put a construction upon; to explain the sense or
      intention of; to interpret; to understand.
      [1913 Webster]

            Thus we are put to construe and paraphrase our own
            words to free ourselves either from the ignorance or
            malice of our enemies.                --Bp.
                                                  Stilingfleet.
      [1913 Webster]

            And to be dull was construed to be good. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

construe
    v 1: make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you
         see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?"
         [syn: interpret, construe, see]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

20 Moby Thesaurus words for "construe":
   English, define, describe, diagnose, explicate, expound, interpret,
   read, read into, render, spell out, take, take it that,
   take to mean, transcribe, translate, transliterate, turn into,
   understand, understand by