as in thoughtful
given to or marked by long, quiet thinking
a contemplative person who likes to go on solitary walks the contemplative life of the monks at the abbey
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contemplative
Kirk's expression in the painting is serious and contemplative, and Ryan incorporated prominent reds, blacks, whites and blues, evoking patriotic themes.
—
Andrea Margolis , Lorraine Taylor, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
This emptying-out trajectory may be familiar to anyone who's read accounts of contemplative mystical experiences.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 13 Oct. 2025
The film had transformed from the messy, illogical version I’d first seen into a hilarious, shrewd, contemplative work of art.
—Susan Orlean, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2025
The kinds of tools people need to navigate this century are forged through creative, contemplative work, and yet fewer and fewer are able to afford the time and space to read.
—Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contemplative
Andrea Margolis , Lorraine Taylor, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
This emptying-out trajectory may be familiar to anyone who's read accounts of contemplative mystical experiences.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 13 Oct. 2025
The film had transformed from the messy, illogical version I’d first seen into a hilarious, shrewd, contemplative work of art.
—Susan Orlean, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2025
The kinds of tools people need to navigate this century are forged through creative, contemplative work, and yet fewer and fewer are able to afford the time and space to read.
—Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contemplative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemplative
Adjective
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While Wohl’s script is packed to the brim with thoughtful moments of beauty, comedy, and heartbreak, Liberation wouldn’t be nearly as affecting and, sadly, relatable without its stellar cast.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
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The film tells a quietly amusing story that offers a more-than-realistic dive into one of the most iconic and thoughtful young men in world history – a man who essentially invented modern angst long before the internet existed.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The melancholy truth is that things have sunk into a morass of demoralization and low standards, with journalism inhabiting the poverty sector among the disciplines, and this at a time when communications nationally and internationally have reached an apex of urgency and complexity.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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The soundscape’s melancholy unease conveys a sense of people persisting against the chaos of the world.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As the sole music category at the moment, the batch of nominees is reflective of the launchpad TikTok has provided for new artists.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
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The Johnson County government website says to incorporate reflective elements into costumes.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Baking is almost meditative for you, too.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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His films often tackle complex social realities with a meditative approach that eschews judgment.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The post included a series of pictures of D’Angelo in the studio, as well as a snap of the two musicians in which D is giving one of his classic pensive, knowing looks and Hill is smiling as the pair lean their heads together.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
15 Oct. 2025
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Stephen depicts the women’s schooltime bond in hypnotic flashbacks, and their separation largely through absence itself, with gliding, pensive shots of places—rooms, buildings, streets—where the women have been and may be again but which, onscreen, are vacant.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This transit can often inspire big visions and philosophical conversations, where people can rediscover their voice and, more importantly, reconnect with their truth.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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His most ambitious series to date, Pluribus can be seen as a corrective of sorts—a grand, artful, mind-bendingly philosophical, darkly funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but consistently humane vindication of our fractious species.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contemplative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemplative. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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