cognition

noun

Definition of cognitionnext
as in perception
technical conscious mental activities; the activities of thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering disabilities affecting cognition and judgment

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cognition So language modeling seems to be merely a powerful component of human cognition, not its equivalent or source. — Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026 Some data suggests that lion’s mane may help cognition in middle-aged and older adults. — Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 12 Oct. 2026 Our study found physical activity may have dual benefits, with associations with slower declines in movement and cognition. — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 These findings indicate the potentially important role TyrRS may play in the synthesis of proteins essential for cognition and memory. — Sajish Mathew, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cognition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cognition
  1. perception
  2. observation
  3. intellection
  4. reflection
  5. thought
  6. concept
  7. conception
Noun
  • Time is one of Butler’s preoccupations—its fleeting nature, its nonlinear experience, its rubberbanding effect on our perception.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • What readers are saying The conversation explores the contrasting perceptions of two political figures, Marshall and Hamilton, in the context of Kansas politics.
    — Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of perception
Noun
  • The speech included observations that were hawkish on inflation, mindful of the real economy, and posed questions about the promise of artificial intelligence.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Over the decades, Ernaux has examined class shame through close observation of her parents’ lives, accounted for all-consuming romantic obsession, and transcribed fleeting encounters in supermarkets and trains in the Paris suburbs.
    — Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of observation
Noun
  • Texture, depth and grainy intellection are absent.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Despite appearances to the contrary—the swirling sentences, the feverish intellection—there is nothing hermetic about Krasznahorkai’s work, both old and new, which squarely faces contemporary European reality and its perils, including the tortured dynamics of settlement, movement, and identity.
    — James Wood, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2025
Definition of intellection
Noun
  • That young Israelis are drifting right is in many ways a reflection of how Israeli society differs from other wealthy democracies.
    — Yarden Segev, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Both she and Rory could also be seen in the reflection of a mirror in the snap.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of reflection
Noun
  • Suddenly, everything that the brain was handling automatically becomes a conscious thought.
    — Jesse Granger, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Overreporting runs the risk of shunting troubled kids into the criminal-justice system merely for expressing morbid thoughts.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of thought
Noun
  • Charging infrastructure at ports would supply the electricity needed for operation, allowing the concept to avoid direct carbon emissions while sailing.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The process started with 2D concept art, mapping out the shapes the team needed to build Wicker Husband.
    — Kirbie Johnson, Allure, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of concept
Noun
  • Bloomberg reports that despite having helped with the company’s conception, Luckey has no equity or ongoing role in Warhound.
    — Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026
  • At the time, the Busby Berkeley conception of musical film as outlandish spectacle was the choreographic vogue.
    — David Hajdu, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of conception

Browse Nearby Words

cognate
cognition
cognitional
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cognition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognition. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on cognition

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about cognition

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