Meditative

Medative is an adjective describing something related to meditation or contemplation, or to a state of calm, focused attention. It can refer to practices intended to cultivate inner quiet or to descriptive moods that resemble such states. The term comes from Latin meditatio, meaning to contemplate, and entered English in the late Middle Ages.

It is used to describe activities, environments, or mental states that invite inward focus, such as meditative breathing, meditative walking, meditative music, or a meditative read. In religious and secular contexts, meditative approaches emphasize attention, awareness, and deliberate restraint from external stimuli.

Many spiritual traditions—Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, and Christian contemplative practices among them—employ meditative techniques to cultivate concentration, insight, or compassion. In contemporary usage, the term also broadens to describe practices that foster calm and reflection, such as mindfulness exercises or quiet, contemplative time.

Although meditation is the noun, meditative denotes the quality of being oriented toward contemplation. It is not a synonym for the practice itself but a descriptor for the mood, product, or technique that involves introspection and steady attention.