cogitative

American  

[koj-i-tey-tiv] / ˈkɒdʒ ɪˌteɪ tɪv /

adjective

1. meditating; contemplating.

   The cogitative faculty distinguishes humans from animals.

2. given to meditation; thoughtful.

   The leaders sat in cogitative silence.

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cogitative British  

/ ˈkɒdʒɪtətɪv /

adjective

1. capable of thinking

2. thoughtful

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Other Word Forms

• cogitatively adverb
• cogitativeness noun

Etymology

Origin of cogitative

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin cōgitātīvus, equivalent to cōgitāt(us) ( see cogitate) + -īvus adjective suffix ( see -ive)

Example Sentences

But differences emerged in the slower, more effortful cogitative phase that followed, leading to divergent success rates in the end: 18 percent for the mathematics students versus 6 percent for the history students.

From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2018

His saxophone emits a broad and smoky sound, with a measured inflection that gives the music an unhurried, cogitative pacing.

From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2017

He pushed his helmet back on his head, a cogitative move.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

If matter be once without thought, it can only be made to think by some new modification; but all the modifications which it can admit are equally unconnected with cogitative powers.”

From Shorter Novels, Eighteenth Century The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia; The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story; Vathek, an Arabian Tale by Beckford, William

The latter in turn hands it over to the cogitative power of the rational soul, from the reflection of which results the spiritual reality of the object, which is its knowledge.

From A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy by Husik, Isaac