Synonyms for thoughtful
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Pensive — demonstrating thought or careful consideration
pensive, careful, serious, contemplative, sedate, introspective, meditative, studious, earnest, reflective, wistful, ruminative, grave, sober, solemn, demure, weighty, musing, brooding, speculative, staid, ruminant
2. Considerate — demonstrating kindness or consideration for others
considerate, attentive, deliberate, circumspect, caring, judicious, cautious, mindful, prudent, discreet, kindly, wary, provident, heedful, regardful, observant, politic, advertent
Other
deliberative, sweet, serious-minded, cogitative, reflecting, preoccupied, studied
Definitions
- adj. 1
Demonstrating thought or careful consideration.
Most thoughtful people eventually solve the puzzle.
- adj. 2
Demonstrating kindness or consideration for others.
Preparing dinner is a thoughtful gesture for a new mother.
Related words
- Word family
- thoughtfully thoughtfulness
- Is a kind of
- kind
Choose the right word
He who is habitually thoughtful rarely neglects his duty or his true interest; he who is considerate pauses to reflect and guard himself against error. One who is not thoughtful by nature, if he can be made considerate, will usually be guarded against serious mistakes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- serious Loss of health is more serious than loss of money.
- careful You should be careful in crossing the busy street.
- contemplative His face looks very serious and contemplative.
- pensive In the window sat a girl with a pensive face.
- considerate It was very considerate of you to do that for Tom.
- attentive Come on, be attentive, so you don’t let me go wrong.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| thoughtful | rising | |
| serious | steady | |
| careful | steady | |
| contemplative | rising | |
| pensive | rising | |
| considerate | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- wary2
- 5 letters
- sweet1, grave1, sober2, staid1
- 6 letters
- caring2, kindly2, solemn2, sedate2, demure2, musing2
- 7 letters
- serious3, careful2, studied2, earnest2, mindful2, prudent2, weighty2, politic3, wistful2, pensive2, heedful
- 8 letters
- cautious2, discreet2, brooding2, studious3, ruminant3
- 9 letters
- attentive3, observant3, judicious3, provident3, regardful, advertent
- 10 letters
- reflecting3, deliberate4, reflective3, meditative4, ruminative, cogitative
- 11 letters
- speculative4, considerate4, preoccupied4, circumspect3
- 12 letters
- deliberative5
- 13 letters
- contemplative4, introspective4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (wary2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- réfléchi
- Italiano
- riflessivo
- Español
- reflexivo