contemplation

[kon-tuh m-pley-shuh n, -tem-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contemplation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of contemplating; thoughtful observation.

full or deep consideration; reflection: religious contemplation.

purpose or intention.

prospect or expectation.

Origin of contemplation

1175–1225; < Latin contemplātiōn- (stem of contemplātiō); see contemplate, -ion; replacing Middle English contemplaci(o)un < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

Related formspre·con·tem·pla·tion, nounre·con·tem·pla·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for contemplation

meditation, reflection, reverie, deliberation, study, intention, rumination, design, musing, ambition, consideration, plan, cogitation, purpose, observation, scrutiny, survey, examination, inspection, viewing

Examples from the Web for contemplation

Contemporary Examples of contemplation

Contemplation and meditation are not just for monks and hermits.
At American Enterprise Institute, NeoCons Say ‘Hello, Dalai’
Eleanor Clift
February 21, 2014
He went, and the experience “launched me into a lifelong passion for spirituality, meditation, and contemplation,” he said.
At American Enterprise Institute, NeoCons Say ‘Hello, Dalai’
Eleanor Clift
February 21, 2014
Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death is both a contemplation of these facts and a reflection upon living with them for decades.
How Do You Write About the Holocaust?
Ilana Bet-El
May 5, 2013
“Concentration and contemplation are still on the surface,” he explains.
David Lynch Discusses Transcendental Meditation in Los Angeles
Sean Macaulay
April 7, 2013
Birthdays can be moments of contemplation, reexamination, and reinvention.
Happy Birthday, Fatah?
Gil Troy
January 9, 2013

Historical Examples of contemplation

The truth could not be concealed, nor the contemplation of it avoided.
Fragments from The Journal of a Solitary Man
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Raising his eyes from a contemplation of the heels in front of him, he saw Belle Langdon.
Thoroughbreds
W. 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 Courtships
Various
The contemplation of the infirm and lonely steed overcame him.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
A state of mind produced by contemplation of a neighbor's uneasiness.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for contemplation

contemplation

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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)).