Synonyms of contemplation

contemplation

noun

ˌkän-təm-ˈplā-shən 

1

as in meditation

long or deep thinking about spiritual matters

the decision to enter a monastery and to spend one's life in prayer and contemplation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• meditation
• deliberation
• study
• introspection
• retrospection
• reflection
• daydreaming
• reverie
• muse
• trance
• pondering
• cogitation
• rumination
• musing
• woolgathering
• brown study
• navel-gazing

2

as in anticipation

the act or state of looking forward to some occurrence

in contemplation of their children's college expenses, they started saving early

Synonyms & Similar Words

• anticipation
• expectation
• expectancy
• expectance
• prospect
• apprehension
• dread
• alarm
• misgiving
• foreboding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of contemplation

She was accepted into the convent at the age of 36, and led a life of prayer and contemplation. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026

What interests me in Zumthor’s architecture is not simply beauty or contemplation. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026

Yet Na also insists on treating his aliens as objects of contemplation and pathos—reflections of our own misshapen humanity. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

The fireside audience takes in the punchline—a survival unscathed, a rescue, an injury, a fatality—in solemn contemplation. — Brian Laidlaw, Longreads, 1 Sep. 2026