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contemplative

[ kuhn-tem-pluh-tiv, kon-tuhm-pley-, -tem- ]
/ kənˈtɛm plə tɪv, ˈkɒn təmˌpleɪ-, -tɛm- /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contemplative ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

given to or characterized by contemplation: a contemplative mind.

noun

a person devoted to contemplation, as a monk.

RELATED WORDS

introspective, reflective, thoughtful, pensive, meditative, thinking, intent, musing, lost, attentive, rapt, speculative, cogitative, ruminative, pondering, reflecting

Nearby words

  1. contemnible,
  2. contemp.,
  3. contemplable,
  4. contemplate,
  5. contemplation,
  6. contemplative order,
  7. contempo,
  8. contemporaneous,
  9. contemporaneously,
  10. contemporary

Origin of contemplative

1300–50; < Latin contemplātīvus, equivalent to contemplāt(us) (see contemplate) + -īvus -ive; replacing Middle English contemplatif < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for contemplative

British Dictionary definitions for contemplative

contemplative

/ (ˈkɒntɛmˌpleɪtɪv, -təm-, kənˈtɛmplə-) /

adjective

denoting, concerned with, or inclined to contemplation; meditative

noun

a person dedicated to religious contemplation or to a way of life conducive to this
Derived Formscontemplatively, adverbcontemplativeness, noun
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 contemplative

contemplative

adj.

mid-14c., from Old French contemplatif (12c.), from Latin contemplativus, from contemplat-, past participle stem of contemplari (see contemplation).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper