Skip to main content
philosophical

philosophical

15 6.7
Calmly accepting problems without getting upset
  • adjective
  • /ˌfɪləˈsɑfɪkəl/
translation icon : filosófico
  • I have been rather philosophical lately.

Examples

  • I'm trying to maintain a philosophical attitude, but the truth is, I'm kinda depressed.

  • But I think I've gotten more philosophical and maybe more real world oriented as time has gone by.

  • Even that sounds very philosophical, but me, it's pretty real.

  • And for that I go through science again, because I begin to become too philosophical again.

  • Now we're going to get philosophical, maybe a little bit emotional.

  • He was very philosophical about it.

  • We're a great match, don't you think so?" Joe was in a philosophical mood that morning.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I have time to get philosophical about these things now that I've retired.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • "You learn to be fairly philosophical about it," Sease told me.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Despite the challenges she faced, she remained philosophical and chose to focus on the positive aspects of her situation.

Synonyms

philosophic
vsphilosophical
1 7.0

Being calm and accepting when bad things happen

accepts difficulties calmly with reasoned detachment rather than only thoughtful reflection
self-collected
vsphilosophical
6.1

Calm and in control of your feelings in difficult situations

accepts hardship calmly with reasoned detachment rather than focused self control

Antonyms

1.0

Feeling sad or worried because something bad happened

49 4.1

Feeling nervous, upset, and not calm

24 4.3

Quickly showing a strong response when something affects it

Compounds

A set of ideas and beliefs that a group of thinkers accept

A main idea or group of ideas in a way of thinking

A big idea about life, meaning and right and wrong shown in books and films

A set of ideas about life, knowledge, or right and wrong that people accept and follow

How Calm

stoical
1 7.8
philosophical
15 6.7
calm
735 1.0
uneasy
98 3.2
agitated
49 4.1

Surface Forms

philosophical positive

Morphology

philosophical = philosophy (semi-transparent) = philosophy + ical

The adjectival form is built from 'philosophy', but the sense 'calmly accepting' is a figurative extension of philosophical attitudes rather than the literal academic meaning, so inference from the base is only partially reliable for learners.

Etymology

Philosophical comes from Greek philo- 'love' and sophia 'wisdom', the same root as philosophy, and a helpful way to remember the everyday sense is that a 'philosophical' person stays calm and accepts trouble because they act with wisdom.