Thinking — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun adjective verb /ˈthiŋ-kiŋ/ think·ing

Meaning & Definition of Thinking

Thinking (noun)

  1. the action of using one's mind to produce thoughts
  2. opinion, judgment
  3. thought that is characteristic (as of a period, group, or person)

Thinking (adjective)

  1. marked by use of the intellect, rational

Thinking (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having the ability to reason

    "it's surprising to find thinking people who believe such nonsense"

    similar: intelligent, rational, reasonable, reasoning
    related: analytic, logical, brainy, cerebral, highbrow, highbrowed, intellectual, cognitional, cognitive, mental, levelheaded, practical, sane, sensible, sober
    opposite: irrational, nonrational, nonthinking, unintelligent, unreasonable, unreasoning, unthinking
    near: brainless, dense, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, fatuous, half-witted, mindless, obtuse, senseless, slow, stupid, thickheaded, fallacious, groundless, illogical, invalid, nonsensical

Thinking (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in reflection, meditation

    similar: contemplation, meditation, musing, reflection, retrospection, hypermnesia, total recall, awareness, cognizance, consciousness, memory, mind, recollection, remembrance, reminiscence, apprehension, comprehension, grasp, grip, perception, understanding
    opposite: amnesia, repression, forgetfulness

Thinking (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to have as an opinion

    "I think we should wait for someone to come help us out"

    similar: allowing (chiefly Southern & Midland), believing, conceiving, considering, deeming, esteeming, feeling, figuring, guessing, holding, imagining, judging, reckoning (chiefly dialect), supposing
    related: regarding, viewing, accepting, perceiving, depending, relying, trusting, assuming, presuming, presupposing, surmising, concluding, deducing, inferring
    near: distrusting, doubting, mistrusting, questioning, suspecting, disbelieving, discrediting, rejecting

Related Entry: Think (verb)

Think is a different word from Thinking. The synonyms below are for think, not for thinking.

  1. to have as an opinion

    "I think we should wait for someone to come help us out"

    similar: allow (chiefly Southern & Midland), believe, conceive, consider, deem, esteem, feel, figure, guess, hold, imagine, judge, reckon (chiefly dialect), suppose
    related: regard, view, accept, perceive, depend, rely, trust, assume, presume, presuppose, surmise, conclude, deduce, infer
    near: distrust, doubt, mistrust, question, suspect, disbelieve, discredit, reject

Related Entry: Think (about or over) (verb)

Think (about or over) is a different word from Thinking. The synonyms below are for think (about or over), not for thinking.

  1. to give serious and careful thought to

    "I'll have to think over everything you've said before deciding what to do"

    similar: chew over, cogitate, consider, contemplate, debate, deliberate, entertain, eye, kick around, meditate, mull (over), perpend, ponder, pore (over), question, revolve, ruminate, study, turn, weigh, wrestle (with), beat one's brains out (about), chew on, cudgel one's brains (about), look at
    related: muse (upon), reflect (on or upon), reminisce, analyze, explore, review, conclude, reason, second-guess, speculate (about), brood (about or over), dwell (on or upon), fixate (on or upon), fret (about or over), obsess (about or over), believe, conceive, opine, absorb, assimilate, digest, drink (in)
    near: disregard, ignore, overlook, slight, dismiss, pooh-pooh, reject

Related Entry: Think (of) (verb)

Think (of) is a different word from Thinking. The synonyms below are for think (of), not for thinking.

  1. to bring back to mind

    "that postcard from Florida makes me think of all the fun we used to have there as kids"

    similar: flash back (to), hark back (to), harken back (to), hearken back (to), mind (chiefly dialect), recall, recollect, remember, reminisce (about), reproduce
    related: recapture, recur, educe, elicit, evoke, extract, raise, remind, relive, represent
    opposite: disremember, forget, unlearn
    near: misremember, disregard, ignore, neglect, overlook, lose, miss, blank (out)

Related Entry: Think (up) (verb)

Think (up) is a different word from Thinking. The synonyms below are for think (up), not for thinking.

  1. to create or think of by clever use of the imagination

    "the marketing department is trying to think up better ways to pitch our product to younger consumers"

    similar: concoct, construct, contrive, cook (up), devise, drum up, excogitate, fabricate, invent, make up, manufacture, trump up, vamp (up), come up with
    related: coin, design, hatch, produce, daydream, dream, fantasize, conceive, envisage, envision, imagine, picture, vision, visualize, ad-lib, extemporize, improvise
    near: clone, copy, copycat, duplicate, imitate, mimic, reduplicate, replicate, reproduce

Related Entry: Thinking better of (phrase)

Thinking better of is a different word from Thinking. The synonyms below are for thinking better of, not for thinking.

  1. to consider again especially with the possibility of change or reversal

    "I was going to bring peanut brittle but thought better of it after considering that some people might have allergies."

    similar: readdressing, reanalyzing, reconceiving, reconsidering, redefining, reevaluating, reexamining, reexploring, rethinking, reviewing, revisiting, reweighing, changing one's mind (about), going over
    related: rehearing, reconceptualizing, reenvisioning, reimagining, reappraising, reassessing, reinvestigating, restudying, amending, correcting, emending, rectifying, reforming, remedying, revising
    near: asserting, defending, maintaining, upholding

Related Entry: Badly (adverb)

Badly is a different word from Thinking. The synonyms below are for badly, not for thinking.

  1. in an unsatisfactory way

    "I'm afraid you performed quite badly in our last rehearsal"

    similar: bad, deficiently, inadequately, lousily, poorly, unacceptably, unsatisfactorily, wretchedly
    related: abysmally, atrociously, awfully, damnably, deplorably, detestably, disastrously, dreadfully, execrably, horrendously, horribly, horrifically, rottenly, terribly, intolerably, unbearably, inappropriately, incorrectly, indecently, reprehensibly, unsuitably, vulgarly, naughtily, egregiously, flagrantly, grossly, miserably, shoddily, sleazily, trashily, unspeakably, abominably, odiously, vilely, inferiorly, insufficiently, meagerly, meanly, scantily, scantly, shabbily, skimpily, sparely, stingily
    opposite: acceptably, adequately, all right, fine, good, nicely, OK, palatably, passably, satisfactorily, so-so, tolerably, well
    near: appropriately, congruously, correctly, decently, decorously, felicitously, fittingly, meetly, rightly, seemly, suitably, exactly, faithfully, ideally, precisely, respectably, gratifyingly, satisfyingly

  2. to a great degree

    "blood donors are badly needed this time of year"

    similar: achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly, extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous (chiefly dialect), mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, very, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly, a lot, as all get-out, good and
    related: absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly, deeply, profoundly, exceptionally, notably, remarkably, considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially, appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly, abundantly, plentifully, astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally, excessively, obscenely, overmuch, amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly
    opposite: little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat
    near: meagerly, scantily, barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

Related Entry: Think better of (phrase)

Think better of is a different word from Thinking. The synonyms below are for think better of, not for thinking.

  1. to consider again especially with the possibility of change or reversal

    "I was going to bring peanut brittle but thought better of it after considering that some people might have allergies."

    similar: readdress, reanalyze, reconsider, reconceive, redefine, reevaluate, reexamine, reexplore, rethink, review, revisit, reweigh, change one's mind (about), go over
    related: rehear, reconceptualize, reenvision, reimagine, reappraise, reassess, reinvestigate, restudy, amend, correct, emend, rectify, reform, remedy, revise
    near: assert, defend, maintain, uphold

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Thinking

The most common words with a similar meaning to Thinking:

Chiefly Southern & Midland: allowing
Chiefly dialect: reckoning
intelligent, rational, reasonable, reasoning, contemplation, meditation, musing, reflection, retrospection, hypermnesia, total recall, awareness, cognizance, consciousness, memory, mind, recollection, remembrance, reminiscence, apprehension, comprehension, grasp, grip, perception, understanding, believing, conceiving, considering, deeming, esteeming, feeling, figuring, guessing, holding, imagining, judging, supposing

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Thinking

Words with the opposite meaning of Thinking:

irrational, nonrational, nonthinking, unintelligent, unreasonable, unreasoning, unthinking, amnesia, repression, forgetfulness

Related Words for Thinking

analytic, logical, brainy, cerebral, highbrow, highbrowed, intellectual, cognitional, cognitive, mental, levelheaded, practical, sane, sensible, sober, regarding, viewing, accepting, perceiving, depending, relying, trusting, assuming, presuming, presupposing, surmising, concluding, deducing, inferring

Near Antonyms of Thinking

brainless, dense, doltish, dopey, dorky, dull, dumb, fatuous, half-witted, mindless, obtuse, senseless, slow, stupid, thickheaded, fallacious, groundless, illogical, invalid, nonsensical, distrusting, doubting, mistrusting, questioning, suspecting, disbelieving, discrediting, rejecting

Word Forms of Thinking

Derived words: thinkingly (adverb), thinkingness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Thinking

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Thinking

Words & Phrases Containing Thinking

thinking cap, critical thinking, wishful thinking, deceive oneself into thinking, forward-thinking, lateral thinking, put one's thinking cap on

Frequently Asked Questions about Thinking

What does "Thinking" mean?

"Thinking" means the action of using one's mind to produce thoughts. As an a noun, an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: the action of using one's mind to produce thoughts. It has 3 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Thinking"?

Other words for "Thinking" include intelligent, rational, reasonable, reasoning, contemplation, meditation, musing and reflection. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Thinking" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Thinking"?

There are 68 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Thinking". Common alternatives include intelligent, rational, reasonable, reasoning, contemplation, meditation, musing, reflection, retrospection and hypermnesia.

What is the opposite of "Thinking"?

Antonyms of "Thinking" include irrational, nonrational, nonthinking, unintelligent, unreasonable, unreasoning, unthinking and amnesia. Near antonyms include brainless, dense, doltish and dopey.

How do you use "Thinking" in a sentence?

Examples of "Thinking" in a sentence: "it's surprising to find thinking people who believe such nonsense"; "I think we should wait for someone to come help us out".

Is "Thinking" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Thinking" can be used as a noun, an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Thinking" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A2-level word, "Thinking" is typical of Cambridge A2 Key (KET), PTE Academic 30–42, TOEIC Listening & Reading 225+.

How do you pronounce "Thinking"?

"Thinking" is pronounced /ˈthiŋ-kiŋ/ and divided into syllables as think·ing.