Meaning & use
contemplate
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To think about something for a long time, with careful attention.
Grammar: Takes an object or a gerund: contemplate the future, contemplate moving.
Patterns
- contemplate something
- contemplate doing something
She sat by the window and contemplated her next move.
He is contemplating a career change.
We contemplated the meaning of the poem.
verbtransitive
To consider doing something as a possibility.
Grammar: Followed by an -ing form, not an infinitive: contemplate leaving.
Patterns
- contemplate doing something
They are contemplating selling the house.
I never contemplated quitting.
The council contemplated raising taxes.
verbtransitiveliterary
To look at something quietly and with attention.
Grammar: Literary; takes an object of sight.
Patterns
- contemplate something
He stood contemplating the painting.
She contemplated the sunset in silence.
Tourists contemplated the vast canyon.
Word forms
| third person singular | contemplates |
|---|---|
| past tense | contemplated |
| past participle | contemplated |
| -ing form | contemplating |
Common combinations
- contemplate the future
- Students contemplate the future before graduating.
- contemplate suicide
- He was once contemplating suicide and sought help.
- seriously contemplate
- I'm seriously contemplating a move.
- contemplate a change
- She contemplated a change of career.
- quietly contemplate
- He quietly contemplated the scene.
- contemplate doing
- We contemplate buying a car.
Synonyms and how they differ
- consider
- Consider is the everyday word and can be quick, while contemplate suggests longer and deeper thought.
- ponder
- Ponder emphasizes weighing something slowly, often a question.
- meditate
- Meditate involves clearing or focusing the mind, often for relaxation.
- reflect
- Reflect suggests thinking back on something that has happened.
Opposites
Word family
- contemplation noun
- deep thought
- contemplative adjective
- thoughtful and quiet
- contemplator noun
- someone who contemplates
- contemplatively adverb
- in a thoughtful way
Commonly confused: contemplate or comtemplate? contemplate or complement?
contemplate vs comtemplate
A common misspelling; the correct spelling has a n: contemplate.
contemplate vs complement
Complement means something that completes, and is unrelated to thought.
Practice
After the layoffs, she began ______ moving to another city.
Choose one answer.
Contemplate takes an -ing form after it, so began contemplating moving is natural. The other options are ungrammatical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contemplate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.