cognitive
Americanadjective
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of or relating to cognition; concerned with the act or process of knowing, perceiving, etc. .
cognitive development;
cognitive functioning.
-
of or relating to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cognitive
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin cognitīvus, equivalent to Latin cognit(us) “learned, known” ( see cognition) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
If it's related to thinking, it's considered cognitive. Anxious parents might defend using flashcards with toddlers as "nurturing their cognitive development." The adjective, cognitive, comes from the Latin cognoscere "to get to know" and refers to the ability of the brain to think and reason as opposed to feel. A child's cognitive development is the growth in his or her ability to think and solve problems. Many English words that involve knowing and knowledge have cogn- in them such as cognizant "aware of" and recognize "to know someone in the present because you knew them from the past."
Vocabulary lists containing cognitive
In the Know: Cogn, Conn
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Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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Vocabulary from "There Will Never Be an Age of Artificial Intimacy," by Sherry Turkle
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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.
A growing body of research suggests that travel may be a key tool for improving mental health, making us more resilient to stress and enhancing our cognitive well-being.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Travel forces the opposite—new food, new streets, new people, new decisions—and that friction is what builds confidence, sharpens memory and gives us a sense of satisfaction that enhances cognitive well-being.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
As James maintains: "As mental phenomena, they are defined on too abstract a level for the goals of cognitive neuroscience."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
The researchers say the findings suggest that an already widely accessible preventive measure could potentially benefit both physical and cognitive health.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
The different ways to teach a song are related to children’s different learning styles, such as aural and visual learning, and the child’s appropriate cognitive development; e.g., age and grade development.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
