thoughtfulness

American  

[thawt-fuhl-nis] / ˈθɔt fəl nɪs /

noun

1. the characteristic or habit of anticipating and being attentive to the needs and interests of others.

   I was touched by the thoughtfulness of the busy waitress, who rushed to open the heavy door for me when I left.

2. the quality of showing careful, thorough reflection.

   The thoughtfulness of your interview questions really helped all the participants get to know the candidate.

3. a contemplative or meditative state or quality; pensiveness.

   He stood looking down at them in gloomy thoughtfulness.

4. the quality of being careful, heedful, or mindful (usually followed by of).

   Solving problems requires not just knowledge of advanced technology, but thoughtfulness of context and application.

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Other Word Forms

• overthoughtfulness noun
• unthoughtfulness noun

Etymology

Origin of thoughtfulness

thoughtful ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

Someone who considers other people's feelings has the quality of thoughtfulness. It takes real thoughtfulness to comfort a friend who's recently lost his pet cat. When you remember to bring doughnuts for everyone at work, that's thoughtfulness, and it's thoughtfulness that inspires you to send your grandmother a thank you note for your birthday gift. Another kind of thoughtfulness describes deliberate thinking before doing something. It might, for example, require some thoughtfulness to figure out how to hook up your new TV. The word comes from the adjective thoughtful, which originally meant "moody or anxious," but came to mean "considerate" in the 1850's.

Example Sentences

“When writing belated wedding thank-you cards, be sure to focus your message on how much you appreciate the thoughtfulness of their gift and their presence at your celebration,” the Knot adds.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

Totalitarian abuses of power and the banal ascendancy of evil aren’t stopped with mere pity, she maintained, but with thoughtfulness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

DecantPlanet threw in three free vials and a signed, handwritten note on the receipt, a touch that further convinces me of the thoughtfulness of scent lovers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2025

E. Alex Jung’s piece on Alvarez is commendable for many reasons, but in particular for its commitment to examining the histories of the people involved with clarity and thoughtfulness.

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2025

I thanked him for his thoughtfulness, but when I made inquiries as to payment, I found that he, too, would hear none of it.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• kindness