metacognition
3 synonyms for metacognition, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — Awareness and understanding of your own thinking, including knowing how you learn, judging how well you understand something, and choosing strategies to fix the gaps.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use metacognition
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
metacognitive strategies
develop metacognition
metacognitive awareness
Technical, common in education and psychology rather than everyday speech.
Etymology
From Greek meta 'beyond, about' plus Latin cognitio 'knowing', from cognoscere 'to get to know'.
Full origin of metacognition →Frequently asked questions
What is metacognition in simple terms?
It is thinking about your own thinking: noticing what you do and do not understand, and deciding what to do about it. Checking whether you have really learned something before an exam is metacognition in action.
What is the difference between metacognition and cognition?
Cognition is the thinking itself, such as reading, remembering or solving a problem. Metacognition sits one level above and watches that process, judging how well it is going and adjusting the approach.
What are examples of metacognitive strategies?
Planning how to tackle a task, self-testing rather than rereading, asking yourself whether an answer makes sense, and reflecting afterwards on what worked. All involve monitoring your own understanding.
