cerebrate

American  

[ser-uh-breyt] / ˈsɛr əˌbreɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

cerebrated, cerebrating

1. to use the mind; think or think about.

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cerebrate British  

/ ˈsɛrɪˌbreɪt /

verb

1. facetious (intr) to use the mind; think; ponder; consider

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Other Word Forms

• cerebration
  noun
• cerebrational
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cerebrate

1870–75; back formation from cerebration. See cerebrum, -ation

Explanation

Cerebrate is a fancy, old-fashioned way to say "ponder" or "think really hard." When you're completing the essay section of a test, you should leave yourself enough time to cerebrate before you start writing. If you love to cerebrate, you may want to be a philosopher some day, spending your time thinking and reasoning about various subjects. This verb comes from cerebration, or "the thought process." You need a high-functioning brain in order to cerebrate well, and it's no coincidence: the Latin root is cerebrum, or "brain."

Example Sentences

I’m uncomfortable with too much intimacy, afraid of female need, quicker to anger than sadness, apt to cerebrate rather than experience my emotions.

From Slate • May 17, 2018

In addition to dispensing stateliness of presence, ring of voice, ability to cerebrate while vertical, and modern substitutes for the Demosthenic pebble, Dr. Covington studies the vocabulation of his charges.

From Time Magazine Archive

One M. L. Lederer had accused Dr. Emanuel Lasker, German chess master, onetime world's champion, of employing unfair tactics for the purpose of impairing his opponents' powers to cerebrate.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is one thing to cerebrate; to narrate is quite another.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yet when you've got a boss who always expects you to cerebrate in high gear, as he's so fond of puttin' it, you've got to produce something off-hand, or stall around.

From Torchy and Vee by Ford, Sewell