considerate

adjective

con·​sid·​er·​ate kən-ˈsi-d(ə-)rət How to pronounce considerate (audio)
Synonyms of considerate
1
: marked by or given to careful consideration : circumspect
"He is, I believe, in such a state of mental distress as to be hardly capable of giving me a considerate answer."—Anthony Trollope
2
: thoughtful of the rights and feelings of others
He was considerate and silenced his phone when the movie started.
considerately adverb
considerateness noun

Synonyms of considerate

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of considerate in a Sentence

She is one of the most considerate people I know. He was considerate and turned down the stereo when we asked him to.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First, that the guests are considerate and grateful, even if that does not mean taking out the trash. — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2026 While most of my colleagues are quiet and considerate, certain members of one department are very loud. — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 13 June 2026 Being a considerate dinner guest comes down to some simple awareness and paying attention to the host. — Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 3 June 2026 Morton Amphitheater asks people not to smoke in the reserved or covered seating areas, and to be considerate when smoking around others. — Kansas City Star, 26 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for considerate

Word History

Etymology

see consider

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of considerate was in 1572

Rhymes for considerate

See All Rhymes for considerate

Browse Nearby Words

considerance
considerate
consideration
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Considerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/considerate. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

considerate

adjective
con·​sid·​er·​ate kən-ˈsid-(ə-)rət How to pronounce considerate (audio)
1
: tending to consider things carefully
2
: thoughtful of the rights and feelings of others
considerately adverb
considerateness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on considerate

Nglish: Translation of considerate for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All