meditative
Americanadjective
Synonym Usage
See pensive.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of meditative
From the Late Latin word meditātīvus, dating back to 1605–15. See meditate, -ive
Explanation
The adjective meditative is good for describing something that's reflective or deeply thoughtful. Your favorite movies might be quiet, slow-paced, and meditative. When you reflect on your life or an important decision, you are meditative, and anything that involves this state of mind can be described the same way. A yoga studio often has a meditative feeling about it, and good, thoughtful advice is usually offered in a meditative way. The root of meditative is the Latin word meditat, or "contemplated," which in turn comes from a Proto-Indo-European root that means "to measure, consider, or advise."
Vocabulary lists containing meditative
This Week in Pop Culture: January 19 - 25, 2019
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Our Town
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"Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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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.
I was at a sound bath in the North American Mammal Hall at L.A.’s Natural History Museum, surrounded by dioramas of taxidermy, meditative instruments and sound healers from the Oso Sound Healing Studio.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
They're calming, relaxing, and the vibrations can help put you into a meditative state.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
There is certainly an unhurried pace to poet and playwright Andri Snær Magnason’s ruminations on his island nation’s disappearing glaciers, and a meditative quality to the film’s startlingly beautiful visuals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
And his search for a Christian philosophy goes from meditative to frightening.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
But it doesn’t feel meditative, as it usually does.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
