cognition

noun

cog·​ni·​tion käg-ˈni-shən 

: cognitive mental processes

A concussion impaired the patient's cognition.

also : a product of these processes

cognitional

käg-ˈnish-nəl 

-ˈni-shə-nᵊl

adjective

Examples of cognition in a Sentence

disabilities affecting cognition and judgment

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the course description, topics include executive functioning and time management; social cognition, context awareness and how to take on the perspective of another person; and communication and relationship skills and self-advocacy. —Olivia Sanchez, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024

Keep in mind, infants are working on various skill areas, including gross motor, fine motor, language, cognition, social, and emotional development. —Kristina Behr, Parents, 27 May 2024

The main constraint for all these tasks today is cognition. —Otto Barten, TIME, 16 May 2024

While numerous factors — many of them outside the control of physicians — are at play in diagnostic errors, human cognition plays a major role. —Adam Rodman, STAT, 3 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cognicioun "comprehension, ability to comprehend," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French cognicion "knowledge, jurisdiction," borrowed from Latin cognitiōn-, cognitiō "act of getting to know, comprehension, investigation," from cogni-, variant stem of cognōscere "to get to know, acquire knowledge of, become acquainted with, investigate" (from co- co- + gnōscere, nōscere "to get to know," inchoative derivative from Indo-European *ǵneh₃-, *ǵṇh₃- "to know, recognize") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at know entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cognition

noun

cog·​ni·​tion käg-ˈnish-ən 

: the act or process of knowing

Medical Definition

cognition

noun

cog·​ni·​tion käg-ˈnish-ən 

1

: cognitive mental processes

2

: a conscious intellectual act

conflict between cognitions