What does "contemplative" mean?
Someone who has dedicated themselves to religious or philosophical contemplation.
Contemplative
/kənˈtɛmplətɪv/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone who has dedicated themselves to religious or philosophical contemplation.
- Grammar: contemplative is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: meditative, pensive, reflective, absorbed.
- Useful contrasts: action oriented, active, doer.
- Usage evidence: Wise, modest, contemplative, studious, never clamorous, even if a bit stubborn, he always avoided causing distress to anyone.
How to use "contemplative"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "contemplative" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "contemplative" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "contemplative" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "contemplative" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "contemplative" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "meditative" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "contemplative", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone who has dedicated themselves to religious or philosophical contemplation.
"Like the white page that surrounds the darkness of each letter you are reading here, eternity surrounds each heartbeat, and as the contemplative watches his breath, he can move out of time through the doorway which opens in the interval between each heartbeat."
- 2 a person devoted to the contemplative life wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Inclined to contemplate; introspective and thoughtful; meditative.
"Compared with the greatest poets, he may be said to be the poet of unpoetical natures, possessed of quiet and contemplative tastes. But unpoetical natures are precisely those which require poetic cultivation. This cultivation Wordsworth is much more fitted to give, than poets who are intrinsically far more poets than he."
- 2 Pertaining to a religious contemplative, or a contemplative religious orders, especially the Roman Catholic varieties.
"Whether the nuns of yore, being of a submissive rather than a stiff-necked generation, habitually bent their contemplative heads to avoid collision with the beams in the low ceilings of the many chambers of their House [...] may be matters of interest to its haunting ghosts (if any), but constitute no item in Miss Twinkleton's half-yearly accounts."
- 3 Relating to, or having the power of, contemplation.
"contemplative faculties"
- 4 In a phase of mental activity in which one begins to recognize and acknowledge the maladaptiveness of someone's behavior (such as one's own, or that of a family member or friend); usually with reference to substance use.
Adjective
- 1 deeply or seriously thoughtful wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"Wise, modest, contemplative, studious, never clamorous, even if a bit stubborn, he always avoided causing distress to anyone."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "contemplative"?
Common synonyms include: meditative, pensive, reflective, absorbed, attentive, brooding.
How do you use "contemplative" in a sentence?
Wise, modest, contemplative, studious, never clamorous, even if a bit stubborn, he always avoided causing distress to anyone.
How do you pronounce "contemplative"?
Pronounced /kənˈtɛmplətɪv/.
Etymology
From Middle English contemplatyve, contemplatyf, from Old French contemplatif, from Latin contemplātīvus.