thought

thought *idea, concept, conception, notion, impression

Analogous words: *opinion, view, sentiment, belief, conviction, persuasion thoughtful

1 Thoughtful, reflective, speculative, contemplative, meditative, pensive can be applied to persons or their moods, attitudes, expressions, and utterances as meaning characterized by or showing the power to engage in thought, especially in concentrated thinking.

Thoughtful may imply either the act of thinking concentratedly or the disposition to apply oneself to the careful and serious consideration of problems or questions at issue

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he has a shrewd rather than a thoughtful face

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Marlowe—not excepting Shakespeare or Chapman, the most thoughtful and philosophical mind, though immature, among the Elizabethan dramatists— T. S. Eliot

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a thoughtful book on a serious subject— Seltzer

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Reflective differs from thoughtful in its stronger implication of orderly processes of thought, such as analysis and logical reasoning, and in its suggestion of a definite aim, such as the understanding of a thing's nature or of its relation to other things or the reaching of a definite conclusion

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men of reflective and analytical habit, eager to rationalize its [plutocracy's] instincts and to bring it into some sort of relationship to the main streams of human thought— Mencken

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Speculative implies a tendency or inclination to think about things of which direct knowledge is either impossible or so limited that any conclusions are bound to be uncertain

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economics is regarded by many persons as a speculative science

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speculative writing about the state— Frankfurter}

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Hence the term often implies theorizing or conjecturing without consideration of the evidence or with little attention to the evidence

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about a thousand practical and positive topics the Frenchman, who speaks from experience and examination, finds our views speculative and immature— Brownell

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the philosophical background of Chinese culture has always tended to create reflective rather than speculative thinkers— Hart

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Contemplative carries a stronger implication than the other words of an attention fixed on the object of one's thoughts; it may imply as its object something perceivable by the senses or something abstract yet comprehensible by the mind, or it may suggest a habit of mind

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a contemplative thinker, withdrawn from active life— Theodore Spencer

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practical curiosity becomes contemplative and examines things for their own sake when . . . man . . . having arrived at the stage of ideas and thought, applies them to the data presented by sensible experience— Alexander

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the contemplative life which is concerned with human feeling and thought and beauty— Ruskin

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Meditative, except in religious use, where it comes very close to contemplative, usually implies a tendency to ponder or muse over something without necessarily implying any such intellectual purpose as understanding a thing or reaching a conclusion regarding it. The term therefore often comes close to thoughtful, though it usually implies some consecutive reasoning and sometimes suggests pleasure rather than seriousness in the exercise of thought

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indulge in many a meditative walk

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a meditative temperament

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Sympathies . . . that steal upon the meditative mind, and grow with thought— Wordsworthy

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Pensive is not always clearly distinguishable from meditative, though at times it carries a stronger suggestion of dreaminess, of wistfulness, or of melancholy

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for oft, when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood—Wordsworth

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silent and pensive, idle, restless, slow— Byron

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Analogous words: *serious, earnest, grave, sober: engrossed, absorbed, *intent: *abstracted, preoccupied

2 Thoughtful, considerate, attentive are applied to persons and their acts in the sense of being mindful of the comfort or happiness of others.

Thoughtful usually implies unselfish concern for others or the capacity for anticipating another's needs

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in his thoughtful wish of escorting them through the streets of the rough, riotous town— Gaskell

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Considerate stresses concern for the feelings of others or thoughtfulness in preventing or in relieving pain, suffering, or distress

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the French poor people are very considerate where they see suffering— Meredith

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too courteous and considerate to make stubborn subordinates bend properly to his will— Nevins & Commager

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Attentive emphasizes continuous thoughtfulness or implies repeated acts of kindness or courtesy

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Emmy had always been good and attentive to him. It was she who ministered to his comforts— Thackeray

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I was never more surprised than by his behavior to us. It was more than civil; it was really attentive— Austen

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Analogous words: solicitous, concerned, careful, anxious (see under CARE): courteous, polite, gallant, chivalrous (see CIVIL)

Antonyms: thoughtless