cognitive

adjective cog·ni·tive \ ˈkäg-nə-tiv \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

Examples: cognitive in a Sentence

Editor's Note: How Should You Use cognitive?

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

See cognitive defined for kids

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

Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories Culture A guide to busting through confirmation bias, the cognitive fallacy that's destroying our discourse.

— michael fitzgerald, WIRED, "The Court Case that Enabled Today's Toxic Internet," 8 July 2018
Deep breathing also helps another result of COPD — moderate cognitive impairment.

— Houston Chronicle, "How to “live long and prosper”," 7 July 2018
Patients in the high-dose group began seeing a significant cognitive benefit compared with placebo after only six months of the trial, Kramer said, and continued seeing a benefit throughout the study.

— damian garde, STAT, "Biogen reports positive results with Alzheimer’s drug, reviving hopes for once-failed treatment," 5 July 2018
Firework shows are supposed to be free of lead, which can cause a variety of health issues, including respiratory and cognitive problems.

— gary robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "UC San Diego to monitor fireworks explosions for traces of lead," 3 July 2018
People can also develop encephalopathy, or subtle cognitive changes.

— andrea k. mcdaniels, baltimoresun.com, "Ask the expert: With Lyme disease on the rise, here's how you can protect yourself," 3 July 2018
In most cases, combining medication and cognitive behavioral modification treatment is recommended to teach adults effective ways to manage the persistent symptoms across the life span.

— rene hernandez-cardenache, psy.d., m.s. ed., miamiherald, "A focus on distraction: A closer look at adult ADHD," 2 July 2018
The most common of those symptoms included cognitive impairment, balance issues, visual and hearing problems, sleep trouble, and headaches.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "Brain injury, sound-attack fears spread in China as more Americans evacuated," 2 July 2018
The package includes self-help tools that can lead participants down a different career path, as well as cognitive training to expel any negative thoughts.

— kati pohjanpalo, Bloomberg.com, "A $4,600 Ticket to Networking Excludes All Men, and Some Women," 1 July 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year