thoughtfully

adverb

as in kindly
with good reason or courtesy a restaurant that thoughtfully provides the diners with a basket of bread while they await their meals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 thoughtfully Data centers should be approached carefully and thoughtfully. — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 11 Nov. 2026 Malkmus teases guitarist Greg Ginn for liking the Grateful Dead now and notes how sweet drummer Bill Stevenson seems for answering a reporter’s silly question so thoughtfully. — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 10 Nov. 2026 Each of the 13 cabins is bright, comfortable, and thoughtfully designed. — Karthika Gupta, Travel + Leisure, 8 Nov. 2026 Pair the sage with Annabelle's soft taupe for a subtle color combination that looks thoughtfully collected. — Jacorey Moon, Architectural Digest, 7 Nov. 2026 The service Every suite enjoys 24-hour butler service, with female solo travellers thoughtfully assigned female butlers. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026 Critical thinking, or the ability to analyze, challenge and decide thoughtfully, can serve as an operational safeguard. — Marco Stefanini, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026 It was thoughtfully built, with challenging puzzles and tense fights arranged with consideration for pacing and flow. — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 5 Nov. 2026 The Board will take the time necessary to thoughtfully evaluate the circumstances before taking any appropriate next steps regarding district leadership as the facts become clearer. — Jack Lowenstein, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thoughtfully
  1. kindly
  2. nicely
  3. reasonably
  4. considerately
Adverb
  • There is a lot of shouting, too, mostly by Clay, but the tenor of the piece is on balance kindly (though not uncritical).
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The ones who were looked confused but kindly dropped candy into our bags.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of kindly
Adverb
  • Make sure to cook until nicely golden brown and to pick up a bottle of Buttermilk Ranch (near the bagged salads) to accompany.
    — Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Plus, given the bride and groom’s cultural backgrounds, an east-meets-west theme fit nicely with Istanbul’s location and history.
    — Kaitlin Menza, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of nicely
Adverb
  • Philanthropy is an essential part of our community’s strength, but it cannot reasonably be expected to replace the public investment needed to sustain essential services.
    — Julie Price, Sun Sentinel, 8 Nov. 2026
  • That has already been true, just because any reasonably sized organization generates terabytes of logs, if not petabytes of logs.
    — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of reasonably
Adverb
  • Move considerately, and let your actions speak for you today.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
  • The viral post comes as survey data suggests many travelers are generally open to seat-switch requests when they are made considerately.
    — Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Definition of considerately

Browse Nearby Words

thoughtful
thoughtfully
thoughtfulness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thoughtfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thoughtfully. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gauntlet

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All