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Is there any specific word for a person who is always involved in processing a thought?

I could find synonyms for 'deep thought' - contemplation, rumination and so on. But I couldn't find if there exists a word describing the person always involved in deep thought

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  • Have you looked in a thesaurus?
    – Erik Kowal
    Dec 23, 2014 at 7:38
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    I could find synonyms for 'deep thought' - contemplation, rumination and so on. But I couldn't find if there exists a word describing the person always involved in deep thought.
    – Pooja N Babu
    Dec 23, 2014 at 7:51
  • Think-Tank :D :D
    – Shahab Qureshi
    Dec 23, 2014 at 8:37
  • Pooja: It's generally a good idea to include your prior research in your question. It shows you've done some preliminary legwork of your own, and it will usually help others take your question more seriously.
    – J.R.
    Dec 23, 2014 at 9:44
  • Le Penseur.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Dec 23, 2014 at 13:14

5 Answers 5

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Cogitative is a fancy way of saying to think hard about.

  • a cogitative woman who was given to long silences...

My pick on synonyms: meditative, pensive, reflective, ruminative, thoughtful

Related Words: serious, philosophical (philosophic); analytic (or analytical), preoccupied.

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contemplative (merriam-webster online)
adjective

given to or marked by long, quiet thinking
a contemplative person who likes to go on solitary walks
the contemplative life of the monks at the abbey
Synonyms broody, cogitative, meditative, melancholy, musing, pensive, reflective, ruminant, ruminative, thoughtful

See also: contemplative (ODO)

(formal) 1 thinking quietly and seriously about something
She was in contemplative mood.
He gave her a contemplative look.

The contemplative type.

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  • I don't think I've ever seen a construction like "cogitative woman" before. Doesn't mean it's not a good turn, but I'd go with "reflective".
    – cate101
    Dec 24, 2014 at 0:54
  • @cate101 Cogitative was not my suggestion by the way. I'd use the full phrase contemplative type in all cases instead. I suppose you actually meant the comment at the answer by Mysti Sinha.
    – Kris
    Dec 24, 2014 at 7:14
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The word you are looking for is "pensive".

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In the US we often use the expression, "Still waters run deep" to describe someone who is unusually quiet and seems to be always lost in thought. The single word philosopher is also used (often in a somewhat sarcastic way) to refer to a contemplative person, or someone who remains silent while others are in a lively or heated discussion:

"Your baby is so quiet - he just sits in his chair." "Yes, he's a philosopher."

"How could you keep silent while everyone was yelling at that meeting?" "I'm a philosopher"

A few dictionaries will reference this meaning, although it's mostly colloquial.

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An intellectual, a philosopher, a thinker.....

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  • Give us a source and a definition :-) There's not enough here to really constitute a good answer.
    – Matt Gutting
    Dec 23, 2014 at 17:09
  • hey not saying it's a good answer per se, just offering a few words that i like. they are all very googleable :)
    – Gitty
    Dec 23, 2014 at 19:13
  • They are; however, an answer on a StackExchange site is expected to stand alone, containing enough information in the answer to be understandable with no further work by the reader. This doesn't live up to that standard.
    – Matt Gutting
    Dec 23, 2014 at 19:27
  • Then again though, based on the OP's question- he's looking for ideas for words which mean a person who thinks- i highly doubt he is unfamiliar with any of these three words and i like them all. so this answer really does stand alone, as far as the OP is concerned.
    – Gitty
    Dec 24, 2014 at 14:18
  • It's quite possible he's unfamiliar with them; and more importantly, other people who are searching for answers to similar questions later on, and who find this question, may be unfamiliar with them. We don't make assumptions of that sort.
    – Matt Gutting
    Dec 24, 2014 at 14:18

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