thoughtfulness
Americannoun
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the characteristic or habit of anticipating and being attentive to the needs and interests of others.
I was touched by the thoughtfulness of the busy waitress, who rushed to open the heavy door for me when I left.
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the quality of showing careful, thorough reflection.
The thoughtfulness of your interview questions really helped all the participants get to know the candidate.
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a contemplative or meditative state or quality; pensiveness.
He stood looking down at them in gloomy thoughtfulness.
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the quality of being careful, heedful, or mindful (usually followed by of).
Solving problems requires not just knowledge of advanced technology, but thoughtfulness of context and application.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of thoughtfulness
Explanation
Someone who considers other people's feelings has the quality of thoughtfulness. It takes real thoughtfulness to comfort a friend who's recently lost his pet cat. When you remember to bring doughnuts for everyone at work, that's thoughtfulness, and it's thoughtfulness that inspires you to send your grandmother a thank you note for your birthday gift. Another kind of thoughtfulness describes deliberate thinking before doing something. It might, for example, require some thoughtfulness to figure out how to hook up your new TV. The word comes from the adjective thoughtful, which originally meant "moody or anxious," but came to mean "considerate" in the 1850's.
Vocabulary lists containing thoughtfulness
Giving Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Alliance and solidarity can support disagreement. Thoughtfulness will take us in different directions."
From Salon • Jul. 30, 2023
Thoughtfulness will take us in different directions at different moments.
From Salon • Jul. 30, 2023
Thoughtfulness and intentionality stream into everything she makes, everything she does and says.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2022
Thoughtfulness is in danger of being a lost art.
From Quiet Talks on Prayer by Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey)
"Thoughtfulness seeks never to add to another's burdens, never to make extra work or care, but always to lighten loads."
From The Lilac Lady by Brown, Ruth Alberta
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
