underthink

English

Etymology

From under- +‎ think. Compare Old English underþenċan (“to look into, consider”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

underthink (third-person singular simple present underthinks, present participle underthinking, simple past and past participle underthought)

1. To give insufficient thought or consideration to; fail to consider adequately.
   • 2007, Brian Haig, Man in the Middle:

     There was a new one; usually, I underthink these things.

   • 2008, Jeffrey Kluger, Simplexity:

     This gives us plenty of opportunity to overthink — or underthink — the problem, and this is where we really start to bollix things up.

Antonyms

• overthink

Derived terms

• underthinker