thinker

American  

[thing-ker] / ˈθɪŋ kər /

noun

1. a person who thinks, think, as in a specified way or manner.

   a slow thinker.

2. a person who has a well-developed faculty for thinking, think, as a philosopher, theorist, or scholar.

   the great thinkers.

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Other Word Forms

• nonthinker noun

Etymology

Origin of thinker

First recorded in 1400–50, thinker is from the late Middle English word thenkare. See think ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Mr. Rees-Mogg is as much a political thinker as a politician, which is perhaps why he will never be prime minister—a fact he readily concedes.

From The Wall Street Journal

The school has strong roots in engineering and technology, fields that attract introverted thinkers, “making it especially important to create space where quieter voices can thrive,” Duckett said.

From The Wall Street Journal

“For a long time now he has not really been taken seriously as a thinker,” writes Inger Kuin in her biography of the man.

From The Wall Street Journal

I came to know him differently: as a restless thinker who transformed his own life story into bold public policy, reshaping how California understands and invests in its youngest children.

From Los Angeles Times

Rather than fixating on Jefferson’s quill scratches, Mr. Amar illuminates how this equality ethos resonated with America’s most profound thinkers—from the fiery eloquence of Frederick Douglass to the unyielding advocacy of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• brain
• philosopher