| Library / English Dictionary |
THOUGHTFUL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Considerate of the feelings or well-being of others
Classified under:
Similar:
considerate (showing concern for the rights and feelings of others)
Derivation:
thoughtfulness (kind and considerate regard for others)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Taking heed; giving close and thoughtful attention
Example:
heedful of what they were doing
Synonyms:
attentive; heedful; paying attention; thoughtful
Classified under:
Attribute:
attentiveness; heed; paying attention; regard (paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people))
Derivation:
thoughtfulness (the trait of thinking carefully before acting)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Having intellectual depth
Example:
a deeply thoughtful essay
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
profound (showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Acting with or showing thought and good sense
Example:
a sensible young man
Synonyms:
serious-minded; thoughtful
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
serious (concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities)
Derivation:
thoughtfulness (a considerate and thoughtful act)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Exhibiting or characterized by careful thought
Example:
a thoughtful paper
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
bemused; lost; preoccupied (deeply absorbed in thought)
brooding; broody; contemplative; meditative; musing; pensive; pondering; reflective; ruminative (deeply or seriously thoughtful)
cogitative (given to cogitation)
well thought out (resulting from careful thought)
deliberative (involved in or characterized by deliberation and discussion and examination)
excogitative (concerned with excogitating or having the power of excogitation)
Also:
considerate (showing concern for the rights and feelings of others)
Attribute:
thoughtfulness (the trait of thinking carefully before acting)
Antonym:
thoughtless (showing lack of careful thought)
Derivation:
thoughtfulness (a calm, lengthy, intent consideration)
Context examples:
He drew up his chair very close to mine and began to stare at me again with the same questioning and thoughtful look.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The danger was imminent and plain to the least thoughtful.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
As they turned to the car Holmes pointed back to the moonlit sea and shook a thoughtful head.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
She thought this was very kind and thoughtful of the Scarecrow, but she laughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature picked up the nuts.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
She had a decided mouth, a comical nose, and sharp, gray eyes, which appeared to see everything, and were by turns fierce, funny, or thoughtful.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
They were grave, it is true, and thoughtful, but of an invincible serenity.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Then he knocked the ashes from his pipe, carefully refilled it, and after a thoughtful pause, lighted it again.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
Then your eyes ceased to pucker, but you continued to look across, and your face was thoughtful.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Holmes had not said one word to me about the tragedy which we had witnessed, but I observed all the morning that he was in his most thoughtful mood, and he gave me the impression, from his vacant eyes and his abstracted manner, of a man who is striving to recall something to his memory.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
We bargained, him and I, and here we are: stores, brandy, block house, the firewood you was thoughtful enough to cut, and in a manner of speaking, the whole blessed boat, from cross-trees to kelson.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
