contemplation
- the act of contemplating; thoughtful observation.
- full or deep consideration; reflection: religious contemplation.
- purpose or intention.
- prospect or expectation.
Origin of contemplation
Related Words for contemplation
meditation, reflection, reverie, deliberation, study, intention, rumination, design, musing, ambition, consideration, plan, cogitation, purpose, observation, scrutiny, survey, examination, inspection, viewingExamples from the Web for contemplation
Contemporary Examples of contemplation
Contemplation and meditation are not just for monks and hermits.
He went, and the experience “launched me into a lifelong passion for spirituality, meditation, and contemplation,” he said.
Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death is both a contemplation of these facts and a reflection upon living with them for decades.
“Concentration and contemplation are still on the surface,” he explains.
Birthdays can be moments of contemplation, reexamination, and reinvention.
Historical Examples of contemplation
The truth could not be concealed, nor the contemplation of it avoided.
Fragments from The Journal of a Solitary ManNathaniel Hawthorne
Raising his eyes from a contemplation of the heels in front of him, he saw Belle Langdon.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
I wasn't so enamoured with the ancients as I thought I was; but I was enamoured with your contemplation of my pose.
Quaint CourtshipsVarious
The contemplation of the infirm and lonely steed overcame him.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
A state of mind produced by contemplation of a neighbor's uneasiness.
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
contemplation
- thoughtful or long consideration or observation
- spiritual meditation esp (in Christian religious practice) concentration of the mind and soul upon GodCompare meditation
- purpose or intention
Word Origin and History for contemplation
c.1200, "religious musing," from Old French contemplation or directly from Latin contemplationem (nominative contemplatio) "act of looking at," from contemplat-, past participle stem of contemplari "to gaze attentively, observe," originally "to mark out a space for observation" (as an augur does). From com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + templum "area for the taking of auguries" (see temple (n.1)).