slow thinking
Methodical mental processing
Slow thinking is deliberate, analytical reasoning—the kind that requires conscious effort and attention.
The term comes from psychology, contrasting with fast thinking (quick, intuitive judgments).
Slow thinking involves working through problems step by step: Calculating a tip in your head is slow thinking; grabbing the check because it "feels right" is fast thinking.
The distinction suggests that careful reasoning can override snap judgments, though it takes more mental energy.
- deliberateConsciously chosen, not accidental
- ponderousAwkwardly heavy or slow
- methodicalOrganized and deliberate
- carefulExercising caution and attention
- contemplativeInclined to deep thought
reflective · measured · unhurried · taking time · sleeping on it · plodding · mulling · ruminating · foggy · mental fog · brain freeze · sluggish · drowsy · hesitant · second guessing · cautious · thorough · dawdling
- cognitive symptomsmemory loss, confusion, disorientation, brain fog, forgetfulness
- mental flawsstupidity, ignorance, foolishness, dullness, obtuseness
- mental fogbrain fog, cognitive fog, fogginess, haziness, cloudiness
- cognitionreasoning, cognition, remembering, memory retrieval, attention
- drowsinesssleepiness, tiredness, grogginess, lethargy, fatigue
- Mind Idiomssharp mind, open mind, quick wit, bird brain, pea brain
slow thinkingintuition
Instinctive immediate understanding
gut instinct · intuitive thinking · gut reaction · knee-jerk reaction · snap judgment
slow, think, slows, slowed, slower, slowest, slowly, slowness, thinks