cogitation

noun

cog·​i·​ta·​tion ˌkä-jə-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce cogitation (audio)
1
a
: the act of cogitating : meditation
b
: the capacity to think or reflect
2
: a single thought

Examples of cogitation in a Sentence

as long as there's a national deficit, interplanetary exploration will most likely remain an agreeable cogitation and nothing more
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That scheme isn’t dead; it’s just mired in the cogitation phase. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 Apr. 2025 The following cogitations, therefore, are not totally uninformed noisy opining. Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024 The narrator knows that there is something cheapening and peculiarly hollow about all this cogitation. Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2024 But Silicon Valley’s recent inventions invite galaxy-brain cogitation of the sort Harari is known for. Daniel Immerwahr, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2024 Also there, seraphic and silent, was Melania Trump, her emotions and her cogitations eluding our mortal grasp. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 25 July 2024 An average day might require two or three hours of hard cogitation. Cal Newport, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2024 But the output is mostly a simulacrum of human thought, not the product of cogitation. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023 At that point Pohlad cuts to one of his many shots of the rural Washington landscape; the match of image and idea reminded me of Godard’s late period spiritual evocations, the product of intense cogitation — an artistic gift. Armond White, National Review, 11 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of cogitation was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cogitation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cogitation. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.

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