thinker

[ thing-ker ]

/ ˈθɪŋ kər /

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See synonyms for: thinker / thinkers on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who thinks, as in a specified way or manner: a slow thinker.

a person who has a well-developed faculty for thinking, as a philosopher, theorist, or scholar: the great thinkers.

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Origin of thinker

First recorded in 1400–50, thinker is from the late Middle English word thenkare.See think¹, -er¹

OTHER WORDS FROM thinker

non·think·er, noun

Words nearby thinker

think a lot of, think aloud, think back, think better of, think big, thinker, thinking, thinking cap, think little of, think nothing of, think on one's feet

How to use thinker in a sentence

Among writers and thinkers operating at the intersection of economics and public policy, few today are respected as Robert Reich.
The system is ‘rigged’: Robert Reich on the Supreme Court, economic inequality, and his Twitter beef with Elon Musk|reymashayekhi|October 12, 2020|Fortune
I met brilliant thinkers and people so spun out they could hardly form a sentence.
No Unlawful Assembly Charges So Far Following Dozens of Arrests|Brittany Cruz-Fejeran and Ashly McGlone|October 12, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Quartz Africa pulled together a panel of three of the foremost thinkers on China-Africa relations particularly when it comes economics, finance, development and trade to help our readers see beyond the headlines, bluster and speculation.
Watch: What China’s influence in Africa means for the global economy|Yinka Adegoke|October 8, 2020|Quartz
That was a strong line these last 10, 15 years of some good thinkers.
Kim Stanley Robinson Holds Out Hope - Issue 90: Something Green|Liz Greene|October 7, 2020|Nautilus

It’s a remarkable turnabout for Dalio, 71, who has long prided himself on being a big thinker on the world economy, management and more.
The losses continue to pile up for hedge fund king Ray Dalio|Bernhard Warner|September 15, 2020|Fortune
In other words, the free thinker defending freedom of thought.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You were judged as a thinker by the way you lived before others.
Lars Iyer’s ‘Wittgenstein Jr.’ Plumbs the Deep Fun of Philosophical Fiction|Drew Smith|October 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Although he was a wide-ranging thinker, two of his themes had a particular influence.
Why the Caliphate Will Devour Its Children|Philip Jenkins|July 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What got Herndon in even more trouble with his biography was claiming that Lincoln was a free-thinker and certainly no Christian.
Making Lincoln Sexy: Jerome Charyn’s Fictional President|Tom LeClair|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Petersen was a convener of people, known on multiple continents as a careful thinker, dynamic speaker, and dapper dresser.
Alexandros Petersen, 1984-2014|Josh Rogin|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was the face of a deep thinker, a man who had, perhaps, passed through much trouble.
The Doctor of Pimlico|William Le Queux
My uncle was a quick thinker, and I can see how, knowing he must die, he did all he could to assist justice.
In the Onyx Lobby|Carolyn Wells
Thus Anaximander, an original but vague thinker, prepared the way for Pythagoras.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I|John Lord
Direct inheritance of acquired peculiarities no scientific thinker now admits.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
He was an observer of human nature and events, a traveler, a thinker, a student of the drama of all ages.
The Autobiography of a Play|Bronson Howard