thoughtfully
adverb
Simple meaning
In a way that shows kindness or consideration for others.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
thawtfuhleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈθɔtfəli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a thoughtful or pensive manner.
“He stared thoughtfully out the window.”
In a way that shows kindness or consideration for others.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In a way that shows kindness or consideration for others.
Used this way, thoughtfully is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries warmth, so it reads as personal rather than detached.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Kind and considerate
- Usage feel
- Warm and expressive
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use thoughtfully
- “He stared thoughtfully out the window.”adverb
- “He had thoughtfully brought with him some food to share.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Exhibiting or characterized by careful thought.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.