Phrase guide

thought process

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The steps that a person or group goes through in arriving at a thought.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the process of using your mind to consider something carefully

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • thinking always made him frown
  • she paused for thought

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: thinking, thought, cerebration, intellection, mentation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: higher cognitive process

Narrower terms: free association, construction, mental synthesis, reasoning, logical thinking, abstract thought, line of thought, train of thought, thread, mysticism, ideation, consideration, excogitation, explanation, planning, preparation, provision, problem solving, convergent thinking, divergent thinking, out-of-the-box thinking

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: denkproses — process of thinking
  • Dutch: denkproces — process of thinking
  • Finnish: ajatuskulku — process of thinking
  • French: cheminement de la pensée — process of thinking
  • French: fil de la pensée — process of thinking
  • German: Denkprozess — process of thinking
  • Japanese: 考え方 (kangaekata) — process of thinking
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tankegang — process of thinking
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tankegang — process of thinking
  • Polish: proces myślowy — process of thinking
  • Swedish: tankegång — process of thinking