theory of mind

American

[thee-uh-ree uhv mahynd, theer-ee] / ˈθi ə ri əv ˈmaɪnd, ˈθɪər i /

Or Theory of Mind

noun

Psychology, Philosophy.

the ability to interpret one’s own and other people’s mental and emotional states, understanding that each person has unique motives, perspectives, etc. ToM, TOM

Etymology

Origin of theory of mind

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

theory of mind

They demonstrate sophisticated theory of mind, tracking what others know and don’t know.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025

It's not entirely a trivial question, either and has interesting implications for canine intelligence, including the so-called theory of mind.

From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2024

Dr. Gopnik compared the theory of mind of large language models to her own understanding of general relativity.

From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2023

We’ve also found that sleep deprivation reduces activity in what’s known as the theory of mind network in the brain.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 14, 2022

The main aim of a philosophy of mind can only be to re-introduce unity of idea and principle into the theory of mind, and so re-interpret the lesson of those Aristotelian books.

From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023