contemplate
/ˈkɑn.təmˌpleɪt/
contemplate means to look at on all sides or in all its aspects; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study, ponder, or consider. It carries an Arena rating of 1829, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, contemplate ranks #602 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #1,289 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,630 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #5,084 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
contemplate is pronounced /ˈkɑn.təmˌpleɪt/.
Why “contemplate” is a great word
To look at or consider something thoughtfully and for a sustained period. From Latin contemplātus, past participle of contemplārī ("to survey, observe, gaze at"), from con- ("with, together") + templum ("temple, open space for observation"), first attested in English in the 1590s. Unlike "ponder," which suggests a slow, inward deliberation on a problem, or "consider," which implies a practical evaluation toward a decision, to contemplate is a more open-ended and meditative act of mental viewing. It is the astronomer losing an hour to a single patch of sky, the patient tracing of a cathedral's vaulted geometry, or the quiet holding of a single, unresolved thought in the mind's clear space—a secular vigil, where the object itself becomes the temple.
Etymology
First attested in the 1590s; borrowed from Latin contemplātus, the perfect active participle of contemplor (“to observe, survey, gaze (at), contemplate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). See also template.
verb
- To look at on all sides or in all its aspects; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study, ponder, or consider.e.g.“To love, at least contemplate and admire, / What I see excellent.” — 1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 1:
- To consider as a possibility.e.g.“I contemplated doing the project myself, but it would have taken too long.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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