thinking

¹thinking

noun

Definition of THINKING

1

: the action of using one's mind to produce thoughts

2

a : opinion, judgment <I'd like to know your thinking on this>

b : thought that is characteristic (as of a period, group, or person) <the current student thinking on fraternities>

Examples of THINKING

1. Form your own opinions: don't let others do your thinking for you!
2. I've been doing some thinking about this, and I don't think you're right after all.
3. The school's curriculum encourages independent thinking.
4. A piece of quick thinking got us out of trouble.
5. I'd like to know your thinking on this.
6. What is the current thinking on the subject?

First Known Use of THINKING

14th century

²thinking

adjective

Definition of THINKING

: marked by use of the intellect : rational <thinking citizens>

— think·ing·ly adverb

— think·ing·ness noun

Examples of THINKING

1. Chess is a thinking man's game.
2. <it's surprising to find thinking people who believe such nonsense>

First Known Use of THINKING

1674

Related to THINKING

Synonyms

intelligent, reasonable, reasoning, rational

Antonyms

irrational, nonrational, nonthinking, unintelligent, unreasonable, unreasoning, unthinking

Related Words

analytic (or analytical), logical; brainy, cerebral, highbrow, highbrowed, intellectual; cognitional, cognitive, mental; levelheaded, practical, sane, sensible, sober

Near Antonyms

brainless, dense, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], dull, dumb, fatuous, half-witted, mindless, obtuse, senseless, slow, stupid, thickheaded; fallacious, groundless, illogical, invalid, nonsensical

thinking

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Action of using one's mind to produce thoughts, or covert symbolic responses to stimuli. Theories of thought and thought processes have concentrated largely on directed thinking, including problem solving. At the beginning of the 20th century, researchers focused on studying mental associations. Theorists of Gestalt psychology in the 1920s and '30s believed the elements of thought to be in the nature of patterns elicited from experience. Today these elements are often regarded as bits of information undergoing processing. See also cognitive psychology, information processing.

Variants of THINKING

thinking or thought