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.
Example Sentences
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
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 Reading aloud is perhaps the most efficient and effective way to promote cognitive development, while also imparting a host of social, emotional and cultural benefits. Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 16 Sep. 2022 The researchers found that three years of taking the multivitamin appeared to have slowed cognitive aging by 1.8 years, or 60%, compared with the placebo. Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 14 Sep. 2022 About 1 in 3 women experienced symptoms that lasted at least three months, including fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive dysfunction, according to the report. Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2022 It’s a disorder of executive function that makes basic cognitive tasks absurdly hard. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2022 More importantly, cognitive A.I. chatbots never place judgments on what users have expressed. Michelle Zhou, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2022 During one session, caregivers will take part in a simulated experience to see how dementia impacts the sensory and cognitive awareness of those living with the disease. San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022 An 8-year-old boy who was paralyzed in the Fourth of July parade mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, also appears to be showing signs of cognitive loss, his family said. Antonio Planas, NBC News, 2 Sep. 2022 This abolished the olfactory and cognitive deficits. Simon Makin, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2022 See More
Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 16 Sep. 2022 The researchers found that three years of taking the multivitamin appeared to have slowed cognitive aging by 1.8 years, or 60%, compared with the placebo. Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 14 Sep. 2022 About 1 in 3 women experienced symptoms that lasted at least three months, including fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive dysfunction, according to the report. Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2022 It’s a disorder of executive function that makes basic cognitive tasks absurdly hard. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2022 More importantly, cognitive A.I. chatbots never place judgments on what users have expressed. Michelle Zhou, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2022 During one session, caregivers will take part in a simulated experience to see how dementia impacts the sensory and cognitive awareness of those living with the disease. San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022 An 8-year-old boy who was paralyzed in the Fourth of July parade mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, also appears to be showing signs of cognitive loss, his family said. Antonio Planas, NBC News, 2 Sep. 2022 This abolished the olfactory and cognitive deficits. Simon Makin, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2022 See More 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
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
C. H. Hamburgcognitive
adjective
as in reasonable
technical of, relating to, or involving conscious mental activities (such as thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering) cognitive development Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- reasonable
- empirical
- analytic
- good
- empiric
- rational
- logical
- consequent
- analytical
- coherent
- defensible
- sound
- sensible
- valid
- syllogistic
- maintainable
- well-grounded
- sustainable
- a priori
- justifiable
- well-founded
- a posteriori
- supportable
- tenable
- defendable
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- casuistical
- sophistic
- sophistical
- casuistic
- misleading
- fallacious
- specious
- unarticulated
- eristic
- unscientific
- stupid
- nonsensical
- insane
- eristical
- absurd
- irrational
- nutty
- mad
- crazy
- thoughtless
- loony
- fatuous
- witless
- preposterous
- illogical
- weak
- simpleminded
- daffy
- incoherent
- unreasonable
- cockeyed
- harebrained
- inconsequential
- unconvincing
- unsound
- illegitimate
- senseless
- inconsequent
- invalid
- weak-minded
- half-baked
- half-witted
- looney
- uncompelling