cogitation

[koj-i-tey-shuhn]

noun

1. concerted thought or reflection; meditation; contemplation.

   After hours of cogitation he came up with a new proposal.

2. the faculty of thinking.

   She was a serious student and had a great power of cogitation.

3. a thought; design or plan.

   to jot down one's cogitations.

Other Word Forms

• precogitation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cogitation¹

1175–1225; Middle English cogitaciun < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin cōgitātiōn- (stem of cōgitātiō ), equivalent to cōgitāt ( us ) ( cogitate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Psychologists know that people are credulous about the cognitive abilities of those who matter to them, overinterpreting simple responses as signs of cogitation.

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“No one can be punished for cogitation,” Fux said in his dissent.

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But the output is mostly a simulacrum of human thought, not the product of cogitation.

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But it’s mostly a simulacrum of human thought, not the product of cogitation.

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Featuring a full cast of colorful characters centering around the reeling cogitations of its endearing hero, Alexis Hall’s hilarious “Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble” calls for a truly nimble narrator.

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