Word family noun think rethink thinker thinking the unthinkable adjective thinkable ≠ unthinkable thinking ≠ unthinking verb think rethink adverb unthinkingly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthinkingthink‧ing1 /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/ ●●○ noun [uncountable] 1 OPINIONyour opinion or ideas about something, or your attitude towards it The Administration’s thinking changed as the war progressed. Well, to my way of thinking (=in my opinion), they should have done that years ago. He laughed and accused me of wishful thinking (=falsely believing that something will happen just because I want it to). the rich countries’ current thinking on aidthinking behind the thinking behind the company’s new public relations campaign2 when you think about something If it weren’t for Jeff’s quick thinking, Tillie could have been badly hurt. I really needed to do some thinking.clear/critical/analytical etc thinking (=a particular way of thinking about things)3 → put on your thinking cap → lateral thinkingCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: when you think about somethingverbsdo some thinkingI’ve had a chance to do some thinking.adjectivesquick thinkingHe was only saved by the quick thinking of two doctors.hard thinkingOver the next two days a lot of hard thinking went into the campaign.serious thinkingYour mother and I have been doing some serious thinking.clear/logical thinkingAbove 24,000 feet, the lack of oxygen makes clear thinking almost impossible.critical thinking (=when you make careful judgments about how good or bad something is)Rudi wanted them to practice critical thinking by analysing the world they lived in.creative thinking (=when you use your imagination to produce new ideas or things)Her solution to the problem was an example of good creative thinking.joined-up thinking British English (=when all the different parts of a plan or situation are considered together, so that it has better results)The media has criticized the lack of joined-up thinking in the government’s plans for dealing with a terrorist attack. good thinking (=used to say that an idea is good)‘We’d better lock the door.’ ‘Good thinking.’ Examples from the Corpus
thinking• However, they had little effect on the mainstream of Conservative thinking.• Although this trigger, like other triggers, presents open-ended problematic situations, critical thinking does not occur spontaneously.• The report goes against current thinking on what is best for working parents.• His statements closely reflect government thinking.• But the dynamics of his thinking have never been easy to explain.• There has been a change in thinking in terms of the influence of diet on the disease.• Opportunity for mathematical experience and the development of mathematical thinking might seem unlikely to occur readily in the Home Corner.• These show how pupils' mathematical thinking may be inferred from what they do and say.• This is currently the main thrust of new thinking about Bach.current thinking• Tandem's move reinforces current thinking which sees microkernel system software as very much an up and coming trend across the industry.• In medicine, however, it is precisely the current thinking in the field that one is after.• The current thinking is to sell off freight services first.clear/critical/analytical etc thinking• But critical thinking continues beyond perception - towards the actions that people can take to gain control over their lives.• Instead of developing careful analytical thinking, the staff could be instructed to introduce closed didactic procedures that are heavily information-driven.• But that sort of clear thinking completely disregards the romance and revulsion offered up by this particular turn of events.• Never mind that philosophical training in logic is another source of critical thinking skills.• From a Piagetian constructivist perspective, critical thinking is not fundamentally different from regular thinking.• Although this trigger, like other triggers, presents open-ended problematic situations, critical thinking does not occur spontaneously.• Clearly, the intervening period since the Minister's statement of August 1976 had led to some clearer thinking.• The class stressed critical thinking and communications skills, not narrow job training.thinkingthinking2 adjective [only before noun] 1 INTELLIGENTa thinking person is intelligent and tries to think carefully about important subjects2 → the thinking man’s/woman’s etc somethingExamples from the Corpus
thinking• That's often the trouble with thinking machines.• Persons, for Descartes, are mental or immaterial thinking substances.• Nigel knew that he would be the choice of any thinking woman, in spite of Jo's remarks.• No huge feat, let's be honest, although Paul Merton is indeed emerging as the thinking woman's Chippendale. 