What does excogitate mean?
To excogitate is to think something out carefully and thoroughly — to devise a plan, solution, or idea through sustained, deliberate mental effort. Unlike simple thinking or pondering, excogitating implies working towards a concrete result: the thinker grinds away at a problem until a workable answer emerges. English borrowed the word from Latin excogitare ('to think out'), formed from cogitare ('to think'), the same root that gives us cogitate and cognition. The word entered English in the early sixteenth century and has always belonged to formal, scholarly register; it is rare in conversation but appears in academic prose and literary writing, sometimes with a wry, tongue-in-cheek flavour. A writer might say a committee excogitated a policy over many sessions, or that an inventor excogitated a device in solitude. Though uncommon, excogitate is useful precisely because it captures painstaking, inventive thought in a single vivid word.
To devise or work out something, such as a plan or solution, through careful and prolonged thought.
"The engineers excogitated a novel way to cool the data centre using seawater."
Usually transitive: one excogitates something.
To engage in deep, deliberate thinking; to ponder or meditate.
"He retreated to his cabin to excogitate on the matter."
Excogitate comes from Latin roots meaning to 'think out' — literally shaking an idea loose by pure mental effort.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of excogitate
Excogitate derives from Latin excogitare, meaning 'to think out or devise', formed from the prefix ex- ('out') plus cogitare ('to think'). The same Latin verb cogitare underlies English words such as cogitate, cogent, and cognition. English adopted the word in the early sixteenth century, retaining both its sense of careful devising and its formal tone.
Related word forms
How excogitate is actually used
Excogitate is a formal, somewhat literary word; in everyday speech, speakers usually prefer 'work out', 'come up with', or 'think up'. It often carries a suggestion of ingenious or laborious mental effort, and can occasionally sound slightly humorous or affected in casual contexts.
Easily confused with excogitate
Cogitate means simply to think deeply or ponder, whereas excogitate means to think something through in order to devise or work out a specific idea or plan.