Rethinks

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To think about something again to reconsider or possibly change a previous decision or opinion
2. To review or reassess a prior conclusion or plan with the possibility of altering it
3. To deliberate once more on a matter with the intent of modifying an earlier judgment

Etymology: "Rethinks" is simply the third-person singular present form of "rethink," so its history is that of the verb itself. The prefix "re-" comes from Latin, where it meant "again" or "back," and it reached English through Old French, which inherited it from Latin and carried it into Middle English. The base verb "think" has a much older lineage: it descends from Old English "þenċan," which was itself related to a Proto-Germanic verb meaning roughly "to seem" or "to appear to oneself," a sense that reflects how thinking was once framed as a matter of how things seemed to the mind. Because "re-" is a productive prefix, "rethink" is a straightforward compound formed by attaching it to "think," the way "reread" or "rebuild" are formed. The combination simply means to think something over once more, and it reflects the same ordinary process that produces countless other English verbs.

Synonyms: reconsider, reassess