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thoughtful

thoughtful

68 2.6
Serious and quietly thinking about something
  • adjective
  • /ˈθɔtfl/
translation icon : reflexivo
  • Her thoughtful response showed that she had taken the time to reflect on the issue.
  • a thoughtful analysis
  • thoughtful consideration
  • thoughtful reflection

She looked and she was all thoughtful and she cried and left.

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Examples

  • She is a thoughtful young woman, and she is teaching for all the right reasons.

  • In this study, we observed frequent interplay between effective team building and thoughtful technology integration.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Sent me this very thoughtful key chain.

  • This is very, very thoughtful.

  • You have a mind to rival my own, a mind that is thoughtful and wise.

  • Our students truly achieve through serious, thoughtful assignments and internal rewards from honest efforts.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Indian democracy has also been well served by a thoughtful and elaborate constitution.

    Academic text (1999)
  • I had spent a quiet, thoughtful weekend walking in the wind and the alders.

    Academic text (1992)
  • So he was a thoughtful man with a hungry mind and a questioning intellect.

  • Well, who could have guessed he'd be so thoughtful?

Synonyms

serious
vsthoughtful
629 3.2

Needing a lot of effort or careful thought

is about careful reflective thinking rather than task difficulty
reflective
vsthoughtful
38 4.5

A person who thinks carefully about ideas or feelings

is more generally serious and considered rather than inward only
introspective
vsthoughtful
19 7.4

To think carefully about your own feelings and thoughts

is more generally reflective and serious not only self focused
meditative
vsthoughtful
17 5.6

Thinking deeply and quietly in a calm way

is serious and reflective but not necessarily calm or absorbed
contemplative
vsthoughtful
15 6.0

Thinking deeply and quietly, often for a long time

is serious and reflective yet not always prolonged quiet reflection
pensive
vsthoughtful
14 7.0

Being quiet and deep in thought, often a little sad

is serious and reflective but usually without the sad tone
deliberative
vsthoughtful
11 7.4

Involving careful discussion and thought before making a decision

is inward reflection and careful thought rather than group decision process
serious-minded
vsthoughtful
2 4.7

A person who thinks carefully and acts in a calm, sincere way

is reflective and serious in thought rather than only solemn manner
cogitative
vsthoughtful
  • Formal
8.4

Thinking carefully to understand or solve something

is broader meaning serious and reflective about many matters
musing
vsthoughtful
6.1

Being quiet and thinking deeply about something

is a lasting trait of being serious and reflective rather than brief state

Antonyms

37 4.0

Not caring about how your words or actions may hurt others

Compounds

An action that shows care for someone

How Reflective

ruminative
1 7.9
meditative
17 5.6
thoughtful
68 2.6
pensive
14 7.0

Surface Forms

thoughtful positive
thoughtfuler comparative
thoughtfulest superlative

Morphology

thoughtful = thought (transparent) = thought + ful

Productive suffix '-ful' added to the noun 'thought' yields 'full of thought', directly matching the reflective/serious sense.

Etymology

Thoughtful comes from the word thought (from an old English word meaning 'think') plus the ending -ful meaning 'full of'. So thoughtful means 'full of thought', which is why it describes someone serious and reflective.