Meaning & use
well-thought-out
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Prepared with real care, so that the details and the likely results have been considered in advance.
Grammar: Hyphenated before a noun (a well-thought-out plan); after a verb it can be written without hyphens: the plan was well thought out.
Patterns
- a well-thought-out plan
- a well-thought-out argument
The council presented a well-thought-out plan for the new bus routes.
Her essay was well-thought-out, with each point supported by evidence.
It is a simple but well-thought-out design that anyone can use.
Common combinations
- well-thought-out plan
- A well-thought-out plan saved the team weeks of rework.
- well-thought-out strategy
- They won the contract with a well-thought-out strategy.
- well-thought-out answer
- He gave a calm, well-thought-out answer to a tough question.
- well-thought-out design
- The kitchen has a well-thought-out design, with everything within reach.
- carefully and well thought out
- The proposal was carefully and well thought out.
Synonyms and how they differ
- carefully planned
- Carefully planned focuses on the preparation of an event or action, while well-thought-out also covers ideas and arguments.
- considered
- Considered is shorter and more formal, usually describing an opinion or decision rather than a physical plan.
- thorough
- Thorough stresses completeness and attention to every part, whereas well-thought-out stresses the quality of the reasoning behind something.
- deliberate
- Deliberate suggests something done on purpose, but does not promise the careful reasoning that well-thought-out does.
Opposites
Word family
- think out phrasal verb
- to consider something fully before acting
- thoughtful adjective
- showing careful thinking or kindness
- well-considered adjective
- decided after careful thought
- ill-thought-out adjective
- badly planned
Commonly confused: well-thought-out or thoughtful?
well-thought-out vs thoughtful
Thoughtful often means kind and considerate of others, while well-thought-out is about the quality of planning or reasoning.
Practice
The manager praised the proposal because it was ______ and showed that the team had considered the risks.
Choose one answer.
Well-thought-out means carefully planned with risks considered; half-baked and last-minute suggest the opposite, and well-known does not describe quality of planning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “well-thought-out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.