cognitive

adjective

cog·​ni·​tive ˈkäg-nə-tiv 

1

: of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering)

cognitive impairment

2

: based on or capable of being reduced to empirical factual knowledge

cognitively adverb

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How should you use cognitive?

Cognitive skills and knowledge involve the ability to acquire factual information, often the kind of knowledge that can easily be tested. So cognition should be distinguished from social, emotional, and creative development and ability. Cognitive science is a growing field of study that deals with human perception, thinking, and learning.

Examples of cognitive in a Sentence

Homo sapiens' survival is founded in their filling an evolutionary niche referred to as the cognitive niche. —Daniel Grassam, Skeptical Inquirer, July/August 2001

Researchers are debating whether heading balls can dent the cognitive skills of young soccer players for life. —Lisa McLaughlin, Time, 5 June 2000

Further into the forebrain, motor functions trail off and cognitive functions, involving planning and thinking about the future, begin. —Sandra Blakeslee, New York Times, 8 Nov. 1994

Recent Examples on the Web

The cause of this finding is unclear—whether the fall happened because of undiagnosed dementia or if the fall somehow contributed to cognitive decline later remains unknown. —Kristen Fischer, Health, 20 Nov. 2024

His supporters remained loyal because of, not in spite of, court cases, conspiracies, and cognitive questions. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 19 Nov. 2024

Along with memory problems and changes in cognitive thinking, losing your sense of smell could be an early indicator of dementia, according to a report in Parade. —Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 18 Nov. 2024

Preliminary results suggest that rats required to wait for their rewards show signs of shifting from a pessimistic cognitive style to an optimistic one in a test designed to measure rodent optimism. —Kelly Lambert, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin cognitīvus "concerned with knowing," from Latin cognitus, past participle of cognōscere "to get to know, acquire knowledge of" + -īvus -ive — more at cognition

First Known Use

1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cognitive

• cognitive behavioral therapy
• cognitive behavior therapy
• cognitive dissonance
• cognitive science
• cognitive therapy

Kids Definition

cognitive

adjective

cog·​ni·​tive ˈkäg-nət-iv 

: of, relating to, or being conscious mental activities (as thinking, reasoning, remembering, imagining, learning words, and using language)

Medical Definition

cognitive

adjective

cog·​ni·​tive ˈkäg-nət-iv 

: of, relating to, or being conscious intellectual activity (as thinking, reasoning, remembering, imagining, or learning words)

the cognitive elements of perception

—C. H. Hamburg

cognitively adverb