contemplation
con·tem·pla·tion/ˌkɑntəmˈpleɪʃən/noun
contemplation is spelled C-O-N-T-E-M-P-L-A-T-I-O-N: 13 letters and 4 syllables (con·tem·pla·tion). It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, contemplation means “The act of contemplating; being highly concentrated in thought; musing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of contemplation is contemplations.
How many letters and syllables are in contemplation?
| Letters | 13: C-O-N-T-E-M-P-L-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: con·tem·pla·tion |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is contemplation?
Contemplation appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce contemplation?
- UK /ˌkɒntəmˈpleɪʃən/
- US /ˌkɑntəmˈpleɪʃən/
Contemplation has 4 syllables, split con·tem·pla·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-contemplation.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with contemplation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as contemplation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of contemplation
- contemplations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does contemplation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of contemplating; being highly concentrated in thought; musing.
Near-synonyms: meditation, cogitation; see also Thesaurus:attention, Thesaurus:consideration
- 2
Holy meditation.
Near-synonyms: devotions, prayer
- 3
The act of looking forward to a future event.
Near-synonym: anticipation
- 4
The state of being considered or planned.
Near-synonyms: consideration, planning, proposal
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Contemplation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | contemplation |
| German | Betrachtung , Meditation , Erwarten |
| Portuguese | contemplação |
| Spanish | contemplación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does contemplation come from?
From Middle English contemplacioun, from Old French contemplation, from Latin contemplatio. By surface analysis, contemplate + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).