COGITATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cogitate mean? 

• COGITATE (verb)
  The verb COGITATE has 2 senses:

1. consider carefully and deeply; reflect upon; turn over in one's mind

2. use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments

  Familiarity information: COGITATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COGITATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they cogitate    ... he / she / it cogitates   
Past simple: cogitated   
Past participle: cogitated   
-ing form: cogitating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Consider carefully and deeply; reflect upon; turn over in one's mind

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "cogitate" is one way to...):

chew over; contemplate; excogitate; meditate; mull; mull over; muse; ponder; reflect; ruminate; speculate; think over (reflect deeply on a subject)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Derivation:

cogitation (attentive consideration and meditation)

cogitation (a carefully considered thought about something)

cogitative (given to cogitation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

cerebrate; cogitate; think

Context example:

I've been thinking all day and getting nowhere

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cogitate"):

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

think (decide by pondering, reasoning, or reflecting)

think (ponder; reflect on, or reason about)

think about (have on one's mind, think about actively)

devote; give; pay (dedicate)

center; centre; concentrate; focus; pore; rivet (direct one's attention on something)

associate; colligate; connect; link; link up; relate; tie in (make a logical or causal connection)

plan (make plans for something)

contemplate; meditate; study (think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes)

puzzle over (try to solve)

conclude; reason; reason out (decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion)

reason (think logically)

chew over; contemplate; excogitate; meditate; mull; mull over; muse; ponder; reflect; ruminate; speculate; think over (reflect deeply on a subject)

brainstorm (try to solve a problem by thinking intensely about it)

philosophise; philosophize (reason philosophically)

think (have or formulate in the mind)

rationalise; rationalize (think rationally; employ logic or reason)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

cogitation (attentive consideration and meditation)

cogitative (given to cogitation)

cogitative (of or relating to having capacities for cogitation)

 Context examples 

"Ol' Villan had a dog once that run away with the wolves," Bill cogitates aloud.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Also, how the Doctor's cogitating manner was attributable to his being always engaged in looking out for Greek roots; which, in my innocence and ignorance, I supposed to be a botanical furor on the Doctor's part, especially as he always looked at the ground when he walked about, until I understood that they were roots of words, with a view to a new Dictionary which he had in contemplation.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)