kənˈsidə(r) verb
( considered ; considered ; considering -d(ə)riŋ ; considers )
Etymology: Middle English consideren, from Middle French considerer, from Latin considerare, literally, to observe the stars, from com- + -siderare (from sider-, sidus star, constellation) — more at sidereal
transitive verb
1. : to reflect on : think about with a degree of care or caution
before she could consider what to do, her husband came in — Thomas Hardy
consider how serious your position is
2. : to think of, regard, or treat in an attentive, solicitous, or kindly way
he considered her every wish
3. : to look at or gaze on steadily or with earnest reflection
the old gentleman considered him attentively — Edith Wharton
4. : to think of : come to view, judge, or classify
consider thrift essential
consider a leader to be unwise
5. obsolete : requite , remunerate
6. : to regard highly : respect , esteem
he is more considered abroad than here
7. : to be of the opinion : suppose
I consider it's best that he left when he did
8. : to give thought to with a view to purchasing, accepting, or adopting
consider an apartment
consider a trade-in on a car
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : to look attentively
then the priest shall consider : and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague — Lev 13:13 (Authorized Version)
2. : reflect , deliberate , ponder
paused a moment to consider
Synonyms:
contemplate , study , weigh , revolve , excogitate : consider often indicates little more than think about. It may occasionally suggest somewhat more conscious direction of thought, somewhat greater depth and scope, and somewhat greater purposefulness
glancing at that, as at something she would take up presently and consider — Mary Austin
love she considered, and hate, the enduringness and the moral and spiritual consequences of each — Rose Macaulay
when I came to consider his conduct, I realized that he was guilty of a confusion — T.S.Eliot
contemplate stresses the steady calm focussing of one's attentive thought but implies nothing about the aims, methods, or results of that thinking
fine gentlemen and fine ladies are charming to contemplate in history — Bertrand Russell
the poet “has an idea”, and in the course of contemplating it he draws from his subconscious a string of associated ideas and images — C.D.Lewis
study implies sustained, purposeful effort, care for both details and significance and ramifications, and full knowledge as an end
I like very naturally to think that I am being read, but the idea that I am being studied fills me … with a deepening gloom — Aldous Huxley
Bryce, who had studied the matter so thoroughly, was wont to insist it is the smallest democracies which today stand highest in the scale — Havelock Ellis
: weigh suggests thoughtful arrival at an evaluation or decision in which evidence leading to opposite conclusions has been examined and evaluated
the problem is to get them [the young] to weigh evidence, draw accurate inferences, make fair comparisons, invent solutions, and form judgments — C.W.Eliot
the fine balance with which Johnson weighed and sustained his judgments of human flaws and virtues — H.V.Gregory
In this sense revolve suggests turning over the matter under consideration so that all facets of it may be viewed and thought about
should he write to his son? For a time he revolved a long, tactful letter in his mind — H.G.Wells
she was desperately revolving the risk of taking him into the front room to have out of him what his distrait presence half declared — Mary Austin
excogitate suggests deep thought and is likely to connote the fact of a notion or concept having been evolved or contrived as well as the fact of the occurrence of thought
the more sophisticated views on mental structure which Freud himself excogitated — Times Literary Supplement
Synonyms:
regard , account , reckon , deem : of this series regard is probably the least rich in suggestion. It may, but does not necessarily, connote viewing without reflection and, consequently, quick judgment based on appearances alone from a purely personal point of view
a church … which regarded all dissentients as rebels and traitors — W.R.Inge
to regard her passion … and its tragic sequel as a romantic episode of girlhood — Rose Macaulay
Although often interchangeable with regard , consider may suggest a degree of reflection and hence a more soundly based judgment
it seems, however, best to consider as literature only works in which the aesthetic function is dominant — René Wellek & Austin Warren
account probably more common with plural than with singular subjects and certainly more common in passive than in active uses, most often suggests a consensus, a generality of opinion or judgment
the pier … was accounted a most excellent piece of stonework — William Cowper
accounted the best jockey of the lot — Agnes M. Cleaveland
reckon , often informal in its tone, may suggest counting or computation underlying a judgment or indicating a point of view
not to be reckoned one character … but to reckon in the gross, in the hundred or thousand of the party — R.W.Emerson
It may on the other hand suggest casual judgment or supposition or guess
another field where the dominance of the method of sociology may be reckoned as assured — B.N.Cardozo
deem has a wide aura of suggestion. It often sounds archaic or literary; it is likely to sound formal or pompous or, by irony therefore, modest or whimsical. It may suggest considered, judicious, judgment
investigation of all the facts which it deems relevant — H.S.Truman
It also may apply to unreflective, intuitive choice
deeming a figure of speech to be worth frequent use — C.E.Montague