Considering

How to spell considering

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce considering

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does considering mean?

1. verbThinking carefully about something, often before making a decision.
2. prepositionTaking a particular fact or circumstance into account.

Considering in a sentence

• verb

  She is considering a move to a smaller town for a quieter life.

• preposition

  Considering the heavy rain, the turnout at the market was impressive.

• verb

  The committee is considering three different proposals for the new office.

• preposition

  The old car still runs smoothly, considering its high mileage.

Where does considering come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb considerare, which meant to observe closely or examine carefully. Many scholars connect it to sidus, the Latin word for a star or constellation, suggesting the original sense was to look intently at the stars, possibly the language of augurs who read meaning in the night sky. From that careful watching grew the broader idea of weighing a matter in the mind. English took the verb in during the 1300s by way of Old French considerer, and the present participle considering soon doubled as a preposition meaning taking something into account. The hidden star inside the spelling, the sider that links it to words like sidereal, is a useful anchor for remembering the single s and single d in the middle.

How the word is built

• con- (together, thoroughly)
• sider (from sidus: star)
• -ing (verbal/participial suffix)