cognitive

adjective cog·ni·tive \ ˈkäg-nə-tiv \

Definition of cognitive

1 :of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering)

cognitive impairment

2 :based on or capable of being reduced to empirical factual knowledge

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cognitively

adverb

See cognitive defined for English-language learners

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Examples of cognitive in a Sentence

Homo sapiens' survival is founded in their filling an evolutionary niche referred to as the cognitive niche. —Daniel Grassam, Skeptical Inquirer, July/August 2001
Researchers are debating whether heading balls can dent the cognitive skills of young soccer players for life. —Lisa McLaughlin, Time, 5 June 2000
Further into the forebrain, motor functions trail off and cognitive functions, involving planning and thinking about the future, begin. —Sandra Blakeslee, New York Times, 8 Nov. 1994

Recent Examples of cognitive from the Web

Balls filled with extractable biscuits and the like will test the panda’s cognitive chops, and will no doubt provide hours and hours of YouTube hilarity besides.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "Bei Bei the Panda Cub Celebrates his Second Birthday in Style," 23 Aug. 2017
Currently, there is no cure or treatment for Juvenile Sandhoff disease, which progressively affects the nervous system, resulting in a loss of skills such as speech, movement and cognitive abilities, according to the ntsad.org website.

— susan demar lafferty, Daily Southtown, "Will County proclaims Day of Hope," 21 Aug. 2017
According to a study in the journal Sleep, participants who snoozed for six hours a night for two weeks were, by day 10, displaying just as poor cognitive performance as those who didn’t sleep at all.

— eden univer, Cosmopolitan, "Exactly How to Make Your Eyes Look Bigger and Brighter," 24 July 2017
In the past decade, research has increasingly pointed to controllable lifestyle factors as integral to reducing the risk of cognitive decline.

— tara bahrampour, Washington Post, "Healthier living could reduce worldwide dementia by a third, report says," 20 July 2017
Also on Wednesday, the Alzheimer’s Association announced the launch of a $20 million two-year clinical trial to see if lifestyle changes can prevent cognitive decline.

— tara bahrampour, Washington Post, "PET scans show many Alzheimer’s patients may not actually have the disease," 19 July 2017
While human bias and cognitive dissonance are nothing new, the council’s blatant disregard for any viewpoint or data that contradict their preconceived worldview is astounding.

— eric peterson, National Review, "Seattle Progressives Stick Their Heads in the Sand on Minimum Wage," 19 July 2017
That means patients who test negative can skip the PET scan, and their doctors can look into other causes of cognitive problems.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Alzheimer's diagnosis often mistaken, but new blood test may improve accuracy," 19 July 2017
Excessive media exposure has been associated with poor social-emotional, cognitive and language development, as well as sleep problems and obesity.

— bridget davidson, ph.d., and jason jent, ph.d., miamiherald, "Screen time for young children: When and how to introduce mobile devices," 17 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cognitive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

How Should You Use cognitive?

Cognitive skills and knowledge involve the ability to acquire factual information, often the kind of knowledge that can easily be tested. So cognition should be distinguished from social, emotional, and creative development and ability. Cognitive science is a growing field of study that deals with human perception, thinking, and learning.

Origin and Etymology of cognitive

borrowed from Medieval Latin cognitīvus "concerned with knowing," from Latin cognitus, past participle of cognōscere "to get to know, acquire knowledge of" + -īvus -ive — more at cognition

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1586

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