from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
adjective Disposed to or characterized by contemplation. synonym: pensive.
noun A person given to contemplation.
noun A member of a religious order that emphasizes meditation.
from The Century Dictionary.
Given to or characterized by contemplation or continued and absorbed reflection; employed in reflection or study; reflective; meditative; thoughtful: as, a contemplative mind.
Marked by contemplation; manifesting reflection or a studious habit.
Relating or pertaining to contemplation or thought, as distinguished from action: as, contemplative philosophy; the contemplative faculty (that is, the faculty of cognition).
noun One given to contemplation or deep thought, especially on religious subjects; a recluse; a hermit.
noun Eccles., a friar of the order of Mary Magdalene.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
noun (R. C. Ch.) A religious or either sex devoted to prayer and meditation, rather than to active works of charity.
adjective Pertaining to contemplation; addicted to, or employed in, contemplation; meditative.
adjective Having the power of contemplation.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
adjective Pertaining to one who contemplates or is introspective and thoughtful.
adjective Pertaining especially to a contemplative Roman Catholic religious or one of the contemplative Roman Catholic religious orders.
noun Someone who has dedicated themselves to religious contemplation.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
adjective deeply or seriously thoughtful
noun a person devoted to the contemplative life
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Old French contemplatif, from the participle stem of Latin contemplāre.
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Examples
He stared out at the dust and mist blowing across the canyon, his expression contemplative, his mouth like a surgical wound.
pqnga commented on the word contemplative
Principles to Remember
Do:
* First, do the contemplative work to develop a personal answer to the question
* Understand what the interviewer is trying to gather from your response
* Shorten the timeframe of the question so you can give a more specific and reasonable reply
Source: https://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2011/03/where-will-you-be-in-five-year.html
March 22, 2011