Definition of 'contemplate'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense contemplates
, present participle contemplating
, past tense, past participle contemplated
1. verb
If you contemplate an action, you think about whether to do it or not.
2. verb
That makes it difficult to contemplate the idea that the present policy may not be
sustainable. [VERB noun]
3. verb
If you contemplate something or someone, you look at them for a long time.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
contemplate in British English
verb (mainly tr)
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
contemplator (ˈcontemˌplator) noun
Word origin
C16: from Latin contemplāre, from templum temple1Word Frequency
contemplate in American English
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈcontemˌplated or ˈcontemˌplating
1.
to look at intently; gaze at
2.
to think about intently; study carefully
SIMILAR WORDS: conˈsider
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
contemplator (ˈcontemˌplator)
noun
Word origin
< L contemplatus, pp. of contemplari, to gaze attentively, observe (orig., in augury, to mark out space for observation
< com-, intens. + templum, temple1Word Frequency
contemplate in American English
(ˈkɑntəmˌpleit, -tem-) (verb -plated, -plating)
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. gaze at, behold, regard, survey. 2. study, ponder. 3. design, plan.5.
to think studiously; meditate; consider deliberately
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
contemplatingly adverb
contemplator
noun
Word origin
[1585–95; ‹ L contemplātus ptp. of contemplāre, contemplārī to survey, observe, equiv. to con- con- + templ(um) space marked off for augural observation, temple + -ātus -ate1]Examples of 'contemplate' in a sentence
contemplate
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In other languages
contemplate
British English: contemplate
VERB /ˈkɒntəmpleɪt/
If you contemplate an action, you think about whether to do it or not.
For a time he contemplated a career as an army medical doctor.
- American English: contemplate /ˈkɒntəmpleɪt/
- Brazilian Portuguese: considerar
- Chinese: 考虑
- European Spanish: considerar
- French: envisager
- German: in Erwägung ziehen
- Italian: contemplare
- Japanese: 考える
- Korean: 고려하다
- European Portuguese: considerar
- Latin American Spanish: considerar
- Thai: คิดใคร่ครวญ, ไตร่ตรอง
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Definition of contemplate from the Collins English Dictionary
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