Is “cogitate” an appropriate word for this?
I have been thinking about other ways to say "I believe" in an essay and I came across "cogitate". Do you think it would be appropriate to use this word in an essay's conclusion? For instance, does this sound all right?
In conclusion, I cogitate that success solely relies on hard work.
word-choice word-difference
|
show 1 more comment
I have been thinking about other ways to say "I believe" in an essay and I came across "cogitate". Do you think it would be appropriate to use this word in an essay's conclusion? For instance, does this sound all right?
In conclusion, I cogitate that success solely relies on hard work.
word-choice word-difference
3
I try to remove such extra qualifiers when they aren't necessary. Just "In conclusion, success solely relies on hard work" is good. The reader already knows it's what you think, since you're the one who wrote it.
– Justin
4 hours ago
3
Unless you're writing fiction or poetry, never use a more complex or uncommon word when a simpler or more well-known word will do. The entire purpose of language is communication. If your writing can't be easily understood by the target audience, your writing is poor. It doesn't make you sound smart, either. Everyone knows how to use a thesaurus (and I'd bet $100 that's what you did).
– only_pro
3 hours ago
@only_pro I actually read it in an essay of one of my peer's and since I had been trying to find synonyms for "believe" I thought I might give this one try. However, I am glad that I decided to post here and I would like to thank everyone for their input.
– JustAnAmateur
3 hours ago
@JustAnAmateur Whatever you say :)
– only_pro
3 hours ago
1
I might remove 'In conclusion' too depending on the circumstance because it can come off as formulaic and stilted. If the statement ties into your main idea in a meaningful way and appears to wrap up the progression of that idea, the fact that it's the conclusion will be obvious
– Ananth Rao
3 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
I have been thinking about other ways to say "I believe" in an essay and I came across "cogitate". Do you think it would be appropriate to use this word in an essay's conclusion? For instance, does this sound all right?
In conclusion, I cogitate that success solely relies on hard work.
word-choice word-difference
I have been thinking about other ways to say "I believe" in an essay and I came across "cogitate". Do you think it would be appropriate to use this word in an essay's conclusion? For instance, does this sound all right?
In conclusion, I cogitate that success solely relies on hard work.
word-choice word-difference
word-choice word-difference
asked 8 hours ago
JustAnAmateurJustAnAmateur
323
323
3
I try to remove such extra qualifiers when they aren't necessary. Just "In conclusion, success solely relies on hard work" is good. The reader already knows it's what you think, since you're the one who wrote it.
– Justin
4 hours ago
3
Unless you're writing fiction or poetry, never use a more complex or uncommon word when a simpler or more well-known word will do. The entire purpose of language is communication. If your writing can't be easily understood by the target audience, your writing is poor. It doesn't make you sound smart, either. Everyone knows how to use a thesaurus (and I'd bet $100 that's what you did).
– only_pro
3 hours ago
@only_pro I actually read it in an essay of one of my peer's and since I had been trying to find synonyms for "believe" I thought I might give this one try. However, I am glad that I decided to post here and I would like to thank everyone for their input.
– JustAnAmateur
3 hours ago
@JustAnAmateur Whatever you say :)
– only_pro
3 hours ago
1
I might remove 'In conclusion' too depending on the circumstance because it can come off as formulaic and stilted. If the statement ties into your main idea in a meaningful way and appears to wrap up the progression of that idea, the fact that it's the conclusion will be obvious
– Ananth Rao
3 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
3
I try to remove such extra qualifiers when they aren't necessary. Just "In conclusion, success solely relies on hard work" is good. The reader already knows it's what you think, since you're the one who wrote it.
– Justin
4 hours ago
3
Unless you're writing fiction or poetry, never use a more complex or uncommon word when a simpler or more well-known word will do. The entire purpose of language is communication. If your writing can't be easily understood by the target audience, your writing is poor. It doesn't make you sound smart, either. Everyone knows how to use a thesaurus (and I'd bet $100 that's what you did).
– only_pro
3 hours ago
@only_pro I actually read it in an essay of one of my peer's and since I had been trying to find synonyms for "believe" I thought I might give this one try. However, I am glad that I decided to post here and I would like to thank everyone for their input.
– JustAnAmateur
3 hours ago
@JustAnAmateur Whatever you say :)
– only_pro
3 hours ago
1
I might remove 'In conclusion' too depending on the circumstance because it can come off as formulaic and stilted. If the statement ties into your main idea in a meaningful way and appears to wrap up the progression of that idea, the fact that it's the conclusion will be obvious
– Ananth Rao
3 hours ago
3
3
I try to remove such extra qualifiers when they aren't necessary. Just "In conclusion, success solely relies on hard work" is good. The reader already knows it's what you think, since you're the one who wrote it.
– Justin
4 hours ago
I try to remove such extra qualifiers when they aren't necessary. Just "In conclusion, success solely relies on hard work" is good. The reader already knows it's what you think, since you're the one who wrote it.
– Justin
4 hours ago
3
3
Unless you're writing fiction or poetry, never use a more complex or uncommon word when a simpler or more well-known word will do. The entire purpose of language is communication. If your writing can't be easily understood by the target audience, your writing is poor. It doesn't make you sound smart, either. Everyone knows how to use a thesaurus (and I'd bet $100 that's what you did).
– only_pro
3 hours ago
Unless you're writing fiction or poetry, never use a more complex or uncommon word when a simpler or more well-known word will do. The entire purpose of language is communication. If your writing can't be easily understood by the target audience, your writing is poor. It doesn't make you sound smart, either. Everyone knows how to use a thesaurus (and I'd bet $100 that's what you did).
– only_pro
3 hours ago
@only_pro I actually read it in an essay of one of my peer's and since I had been trying to find synonyms for "believe" I thought I might give this one try. However, I am glad that I decided to post here and I would like to thank everyone for their input.
– JustAnAmateur
3 hours ago
@only_pro I actually read it in an essay of one of my peer's and since I had been trying to find synonyms for "believe" I thought I might give this one try. However, I am glad that I decided to post here and I would like to thank everyone for their input.
– JustAnAmateur
3 hours ago
@JustAnAmateur Whatever you say :)
– only_pro
3 hours ago
@JustAnAmateur Whatever you say :)
– only_pro
3 hours ago
1
1
I might remove 'In conclusion' too depending on the circumstance because it can come off as formulaic and stilted. If the statement ties into your main idea in a meaningful way and appears to wrap up the progression of that idea, the fact that it's the conclusion will be obvious
– Ananth Rao
3 hours ago
I might remove 'In conclusion' too depending on the circumstance because it can come off as formulaic and stilted. If the statement ties into your main idea in a meaningful way and appears to wrap up the progression of that idea, the fact that it's the conclusion will be obvious
– Ananth Rao
3 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
5 Answers
5
active
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No, that sounds kind of pretentious and just wrong, as though you looked through a thesaurus to find a synonym. What is wrong with just using “believe”? You wouldn’t use “cogitate” exactly this way either. This word means “to meditate (on)”: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cogitate - you would use this to describe thinking about something deeply and intently. Not to describe something you think or know to be true. “Cogitating” is more of an active process, and “believing” might be the result of “cogitating”. In any case the word “cogitate” is not very common, and does sound pretentious to me. “Meditate on” or “ponder” are preferable and more common (but still, none of these words are appropriate in this context).
add a comment |
I agree with Mixolydian, "cogitate" sounds pretentious and doesn't fullfil exactly your intention.
I don't know where you have found that word but what about checking the Oxford Thesaurus?
Let me suggest some alternatives
In conclusion, I think that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I consider that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I'm of the opinion that success solely relies on hard work.
add a comment |
Firstly, it's pretty rare to use cogitate at all. Using any word related to it, the most common is "cogitation", the action noun for the acting of cogitating.
Second, think has two main senses in English. Most of us native speakers don't even necessarily realise it, but if we learn a language that has separate words for the two, like French, it kind of clicks. In French, their is penser, the active sense of think, where we might say think about, and croire, the stative sense of think, which is closely matched in sense to believe (though clearly with some difference).
Cogitate is a close match to penser, not to croire. It means the act of thinking, pondering, and so on. You might, if you wished to be pretentious, say:
Let me cogitate on that a minute.
You can't say what you want to say. It doesn't make sense.
add a comment |
If you're looking to be the opposite of pretentious, you could say
I reckon that success solely relies on hard work.
New contributor
Colloquial but an accurate meaning.
– ohwilleke
25 mins ago
add a comment |
As Mixolydian states, cogitate is more about meditation or consideration of something. However, you could use it by rearranging your sentence a bit:
After some cogitation, I conclude that success solely relies on hard work.
This implies that the conclusion was reached after the cogitation.
New contributor
add a comment |
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5 Answers
5
active
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5 Answers
5
active
oldest
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No, that sounds kind of pretentious and just wrong, as though you looked through a thesaurus to find a synonym. What is wrong with just using “believe”? You wouldn’t use “cogitate” exactly this way either. This word means “to meditate (on)”: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cogitate - you would use this to describe thinking about something deeply and intently. Not to describe something you think or know to be true. “Cogitating” is more of an active process, and “believing” might be the result of “cogitating”. In any case the word “cogitate” is not very common, and does sound pretentious to me. “Meditate on” or “ponder” are preferable and more common (but still, none of these words are appropriate in this context).
add a comment |
No, that sounds kind of pretentious and just wrong, as though you looked through a thesaurus to find a synonym. What is wrong with just using “believe”? You wouldn’t use “cogitate” exactly this way either. This word means “to meditate (on)”: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cogitate - you would use this to describe thinking about something deeply and intently. Not to describe something you think or know to be true. “Cogitating” is more of an active process, and “believing” might be the result of “cogitating”. In any case the word “cogitate” is not very common, and does sound pretentious to me. “Meditate on” or “ponder” are preferable and more common (but still, none of these words are appropriate in this context).
add a comment |
No, that sounds kind of pretentious and just wrong, as though you looked through a thesaurus to find a synonym. What is wrong with just using “believe”? You wouldn’t use “cogitate” exactly this way either. This word means “to meditate (on)”: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cogitate - you would use this to describe thinking about something deeply and intently. Not to describe something you think or know to be true. “Cogitating” is more of an active process, and “believing” might be the result of “cogitating”. In any case the word “cogitate” is not very common, and does sound pretentious to me. “Meditate on” or “ponder” are preferable and more common (but still, none of these words are appropriate in this context).
No, that sounds kind of pretentious and just wrong, as though you looked through a thesaurus to find a synonym. What is wrong with just using “believe”? You wouldn’t use “cogitate” exactly this way either. This word means “to meditate (on)”: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cogitate - you would use this to describe thinking about something deeply and intently. Not to describe something you think or know to be true. “Cogitating” is more of an active process, and “believing” might be the result of “cogitating”. In any case the word “cogitate” is not very common, and does sound pretentious to me. “Meditate on” or “ponder” are preferable and more common (but still, none of these words are appropriate in this context).
answered 8 hours ago
MixolydianMixolydian
1,92629
1,92629
add a comment |
add a comment |
I agree with Mixolydian, "cogitate" sounds pretentious and doesn't fullfil exactly your intention.
I don't know where you have found that word but what about checking the Oxford Thesaurus?
Let me suggest some alternatives
In conclusion, I think that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I consider that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I'm of the opinion that success solely relies on hard work.
add a comment |
I agree with Mixolydian, "cogitate" sounds pretentious and doesn't fullfil exactly your intention.
I don't know where you have found that word but what about checking the Oxford Thesaurus?
Let me suggest some alternatives
In conclusion, I think that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I consider that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I'm of the opinion that success solely relies on hard work.
add a comment |
I agree with Mixolydian, "cogitate" sounds pretentious and doesn't fullfil exactly your intention.
I don't know where you have found that word but what about checking the Oxford Thesaurus?
Let me suggest some alternatives
In conclusion, I think that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I consider that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I'm of the opinion that success solely relies on hard work.
I agree with Mixolydian, "cogitate" sounds pretentious and doesn't fullfil exactly your intention.
I don't know where you have found that word but what about checking the Oxford Thesaurus?
Let me suggest some alternatives
In conclusion, I think that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I consider that success solely relies on hard work.
In conclusion, I'm of the opinion that success solely relies on hard work.
answered 8 hours ago
RubioRicRubioRic
5,03911134
5,03911134
add a comment |
add a comment |
Firstly, it's pretty rare to use cogitate at all. Using any word related to it, the most common is "cogitation", the action noun for the acting of cogitating.
Second, think has two main senses in English. Most of us native speakers don't even necessarily realise it, but if we learn a language that has separate words for the two, like French, it kind of clicks. In French, their is penser, the active sense of think, where we might say think about, and croire, the stative sense of think, which is closely matched in sense to believe (though clearly with some difference).
Cogitate is a close match to penser, not to croire. It means the act of thinking, pondering, and so on. You might, if you wished to be pretentious, say:
Let me cogitate on that a minute.
You can't say what you want to say. It doesn't make sense.
add a comment |
Firstly, it's pretty rare to use cogitate at all. Using any word related to it, the most common is "cogitation", the action noun for the acting of cogitating.
Second, think has two main senses in English. Most of us native speakers don't even necessarily realise it, but if we learn a language that has separate words for the two, like French, it kind of clicks. In French, their is penser, the active sense of think, where we might say think about, and croire, the stative sense of think, which is closely matched in sense to believe (though clearly with some difference).
Cogitate is a close match to penser, not to croire. It means the act of thinking, pondering, and so on. You might, if you wished to be pretentious, say:
Let me cogitate on that a minute.
You can't say what you want to say. It doesn't make sense.
add a comment |
Firstly, it's pretty rare to use cogitate at all. Using any word related to it, the most common is "cogitation", the action noun for the acting of cogitating.
Second, think has two main senses in English. Most of us native speakers don't even necessarily realise it, but if we learn a language that has separate words for the two, like French, it kind of clicks. In French, their is penser, the active sense of think, where we might say think about, and croire, the stative sense of think, which is closely matched in sense to believe (though clearly with some difference).
Cogitate is a close match to penser, not to croire. It means the act of thinking, pondering, and so on. You might, if you wished to be pretentious, say:
Let me cogitate on that a minute.
You can't say what you want to say. It doesn't make sense.
Firstly, it's pretty rare to use cogitate at all. Using any word related to it, the most common is "cogitation", the action noun for the acting of cogitating.
Second, think has two main senses in English. Most of us native speakers don't even necessarily realise it, but if we learn a language that has separate words for the two, like French, it kind of clicks. In French, their is penser, the active sense of think, where we might say think about, and croire, the stative sense of think, which is closely matched in sense to believe (though clearly with some difference).
Cogitate is a close match to penser, not to croire. It means the act of thinking, pondering, and so on. You might, if you wished to be pretentious, say:
Let me cogitate on that a minute.
You can't say what you want to say. It doesn't make sense.
answered 7 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
9,2511233
9,2511233
add a comment |
add a comment |
If you're looking to be the opposite of pretentious, you could say
I reckon that success solely relies on hard work.
New contributor
Colloquial but an accurate meaning.
– ohwilleke
25 mins ago
add a comment |
If you're looking to be the opposite of pretentious, you could say
I reckon that success solely relies on hard work.
New contributor
Colloquial but an accurate meaning.
– ohwilleke
25 mins ago
add a comment |
If you're looking to be the opposite of pretentious, you could say
I reckon that success solely relies on hard work.
New contributor
If you're looking to be the opposite of pretentious, you could say
I reckon that success solely relies on hard work.
New contributor
New contributor
answered 6 hours ago
erhweqrhweherhweqrhweh
411
411
New contributor
New contributor
Colloquial but an accurate meaning.
– ohwilleke
25 mins ago
add a comment |
Colloquial but an accurate meaning.
– ohwilleke
25 mins ago
Colloquial but an accurate meaning.
– ohwilleke
25 mins ago
Colloquial but an accurate meaning.
– ohwilleke
25 mins ago
add a comment |
As Mixolydian states, cogitate is more about meditation or consideration of something. However, you could use it by rearranging your sentence a bit:
After some cogitation, I conclude that success solely relies on hard work.
This implies that the conclusion was reached after the cogitation.
New contributor
add a comment |
As Mixolydian states, cogitate is more about meditation or consideration of something. However, you could use it by rearranging your sentence a bit:
After some cogitation, I conclude that success solely relies on hard work.
This implies that the conclusion was reached after the cogitation.
New contributor
add a comment |
As Mixolydian states, cogitate is more about meditation or consideration of something. However, you could use it by rearranging your sentence a bit:
After some cogitation, I conclude that success solely relies on hard work.
This implies that the conclusion was reached after the cogitation.
New contributor
As Mixolydian states, cogitate is more about meditation or consideration of something. However, you could use it by rearranging your sentence a bit:
After some cogitation, I conclude that success solely relies on hard work.
This implies that the conclusion was reached after the cogitation.
New contributor
New contributor
answered 5 hours ago
seschneckseschneck
411
411
New contributor
New contributor
add a comment |
add a comment |
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3
I try to remove such extra qualifiers when they aren't necessary. Just "In conclusion, success solely relies on hard work" is good. The reader already knows it's what you think, since you're the one who wrote it.
– Justin
4 hours ago
3
Unless you're writing fiction or poetry, never use a more complex or uncommon word when a simpler or more well-known word will do. The entire purpose of language is communication. If your writing can't be easily understood by the target audience, your writing is poor. It doesn't make you sound smart, either. Everyone knows how to use a thesaurus (and I'd bet $100 that's what you did).
– only_pro
3 hours ago
@only_pro I actually read it in an essay of one of my peer's and since I had been trying to find synonyms for "believe" I thought I might give this one try. However, I am glad that I decided to post here and I would like to thank everyone for their input.
– JustAnAmateur
3 hours ago
@JustAnAmateur Whatever you say :)
– only_pro
3 hours ago
1
I might remove 'In conclusion' too depending on the circumstance because it can come off as formulaic and stilted. If the statement ties into your main idea in a meaningful way and appears to wrap up the progression of that idea, the fact that it's the conclusion will be obvious
– Ananth Rao
3 hours ago