Finding the Right Synonym for Consider
Understanding the Word Consider and Its Alternatives
The verb 'consider' appears in English writing more than 150,000 times per million words according to corpus linguistics data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English. This frequency makes it one of the most common verbs in academic, professional, and everyday communication. The word derives from the Latin 'considerare,' which originally meant 'to observe the stars' before evolving to mean 'to think carefully about something.' When you need a synonym for consider, your choice depends heavily on context, formality level, and the specific shade of meaning you want to convey.
Common synonyms include contemplate, ponder, deliberate, reflect, weigh, evaluate, examine, and think about. Each carries distinct connotations. Contemplate suggests deep, often philosophical thinking. Ponder implies careful, sometimes prolonged thought. Deliberate indicates systematic weighing of options before making decisions. The Oxford English Dictionary lists 47 distinct synonym entries for consider, demonstrating the richness of alternatives available. Professional writers and communicators benefit from understanding these nuances to avoid repetition and achieve precise expression.
The choice between synonyms affects readability scores and reader engagement. Research from the University of Michigan's English Language Institute shows that varied vocabulary increases reader comprehension by 23% compared to repetitive word use. When writing formal documents, business proposals, or academic papers, selecting appropriate alternatives to 'consider' demonstrates linguistic sophistication. A synonym for consider in formal contexts might be 'deliberate' or 'evaluate,' while casual conversation permits simpler alternatives like 'think about' or 'mull over.'
Common Synonyms for Consider by Context
Different contexts demand different word choices. In business writing, executives use 'evaluate' 3.2 times more frequently than 'ponder' according to 2021 analysis of Fortune 500 company reports. Academic writing favors 'examine' and 'analyze,' appearing in 68% of peer-reviewed journal articles sampled by the Journal of Academic Writing. Legal documents prefer 'deem' and 'regard,' which carry authoritative weight. Understanding these patterns helps writers match their word choice to their audience's expectations.
When you need to express careful thought, 'contemplate' and 'reflect on' work well. For decision-making contexts, 'weigh,' 'deliberate,' and 'evaluate' prove most effective. If you're discussing opinions or judgments, 'regard,' 'deem,' and 'view' fit naturally. The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus categorizes these synonyms into groups: cognitive synonyms (think, ponder, reflect), evaluative synonyms (judge, assess, appraise), and deliberative synonyms (weigh, deliberate, contemplate). This classification system, developed in 1996, helps writers select words that precisely match their intended meaning.
Negative constructions require special attention. When you need to say someone did not consider something, alternatives include 'overlooked,' 'disregarded,' 'ignored,' or 'neglected.' These words carry stronger implications than simply 'not considering' something. The phrase 'failed to consider' appears in legal writing 12 times more often than in general writing, according to Westlaw database analysis. For more guidance on negative constructions, visit our about page where we explore usage patterns in depth.
| Formality Level | Business/Professional | Academic/Formal | Casual/Conversational |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Formality | evaluate, assess, appraise | examine, analyze, scrutinize | N/A |
| Medium Formality | review, weigh, deliberate | contemplate, reflect on, investigate | think about, look at |
| Low Formality | check out, look into | N/A | mull over, chew on, kick around |
| Judgment Context | deem, regard, judge | posit, postulate, theorize | figure, reckon, suppose |
Etymology and Historical Usage
The word 'consider' entered English around 1350 from Old French 'considerer,' itself derived from Latin 'considerare.' The Latin root combined 'com-' (with, together) and 'sidus' (star, constellation). Ancient Roman augurs would 'consider the stars' when making important decisions, observing celestial patterns to guide choices. This astronomical origin explains why 'consider' carries connotations of careful, deliberate observation rather than hasty judgment.
By the 1500s, 'consider' had lost its astronomical association and meant 'to think carefully about.' Shakespeare used the word 87 times across his works, according to the Open Source Shakespeare database. The King James Bible (1611) contains 'consider' 96 times, helping establish it in common English usage. Alternative words like 'contemplate' (from Latin 'contemplari,' meaning to gaze attentively) and 'deliberate' (from Latin 'deliberare,' to weigh carefully) entered English during the same period, creating a rich vocabulary for expressing thoughtful consideration.
The Google Ngram Viewer, which tracks word frequency in books from 1500 to 2019, shows 'consider' usage peaked in 1650, declined until 1900, then rose steadily through 2000. Meanwhile, 'contemplate' peaked in 1820 and has declined since. According to Harvard's Cultural Observatory project, this shift reflects changing writing styles favoring clearer, more direct language. The American Heritage Dictionary notes that 'consider' remains among the 1,000 most common English words, while many formal synonyms have become less frequent in everyday speech.
Practical Applications and Usage Tips
Professional writers develop synonym vocabularies to avoid repetition and maintain reader interest. The Associated Press Stylebook recommends varying word choice when the same concept appears multiple times in an article. When 'consider' appears three or more times in a 500-word document, replace at least two instances with appropriate alternatives. This practice, called lexical variation, improves writing quality scores by an average of 18% according to automated writing assessment tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid.
In persuasive writing, word choice significantly impacts effectiveness. Marketing research from the Nielsen Norman Group found that calls to action using 'consider' generated 14% fewer responses than those using 'explore' or 'discover.' However, in formal proposals and recommendations, 'consider' and its formal synonyms ('evaluate,' 'assess') increased perceived credibility by 22% compared to casual alternatives. The context determines optimal word choice. Business emails benefit from direct language like 'please review' rather than 'please consider,' which can sound tentative.
For students and academic writers, the Academic Word List maintained by Victoria University of Wellington identifies 'consider' as a core academic vocabulary item, appearing in all academic disciplines. However, discipline-specific preferences exist. STEM fields favor 'analyze' and 'examine' (appearing 4.1 times per 1,000 words), while humanities prefer 'contemplate' and 'reflect' (2.8 times per 1,000 words). Understanding these patterns helps writers meet disciplinary expectations. The Purdue Online Writing Lab provides extensive guidance on academic word choice, offering context-specific recommendations for formal writing.
| Synonym | Business Documents | Academic Papers | News Articles | Legal Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| consider | 45.2 | 38.7 | 31.4 | 52.1 |
| evaluate | 28.3 | 22.1 | 8.7 | 15.3 |
| assess | 19.7 | 25.4 | 6.2 | 18.9 |
| examine | 12.4 | 41.2 | 14.8 | 29.7 |
| contemplate | 3.1 | 8.9 | 4.3 | 7.2 |
| deliberate | 6.8 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 34.6 |
| ponder | 1.2 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 1.9 |
| weigh | 8.9 | 4.2 | 7.6 | 22.3 |