Some thinking goes all the way down; some barely skims the surface. And some knowledge is so deep, or so specialized, that only a few people ever reach it. This topic gives you words for all three.
Key idea
Deep or shallow: profound, superficial. Ways of thinking: cerebral (by the mind, not feelings), contemplate, ruminate (chew it over), pensive (quietly thoughtful). Knowledge few people share: abstruse, esoteric, arcane, recondite.
The four hard-knowledge words overlap, but each has its own picture: abstruse is pushed away out of reach, esoteric is for the inner circle, arcane is locked in a chest, and recondite is hidden away at the back.
The ten words
Common mistake
ruminate also describes a cow chewing its cud, so to ruminate is to chew over a thought. esoteric means for insiders, not "strange" in general.
| word | picture inside | use it for |
|---|---|---|
| profound | pro + fundus: down to the bottom | deep thoughts, feelings and effects |
| superficial | super + facies: on the face | surface-only knowledge or wounds |
| abstruse | pushed away | ideas hard to grasp |
| esoteric | within, for the inner circle | interests shared by a few |
| arcane | locked in a chest | secret or mysterious knowledge |
| recondite | put away, hidden | little-known learning |
Three verbs and adjectives for thinking: to contemplate is to think long and carefully; to ruminate is to chew a thought over and over (like a cow with its cud); a pensive person is quietly, often sadly, thoughtful.