philosophize

verb

phi·​los·​o·​phize fə-ˈlä-sə-ˌfīz How to pronounce philosophize (audio)
philosophized; philosophizing

intransitive verb

1
: to reason in the manner of a philosopher
2
: to expound a moralizing and often superficial philosophy

transitive verb

: to consider from or bring into conformity with a philosophical point of view
philosophizer noun

Examples of philosophize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Importantly for our purposes here, Hammel’s character Karla has long been out and mostly likes to armchair-philosophize and make dry quips about Fire Island; amid a sea of earnest trans characters who go on emotional Journeys™, thank Christ for that. Samantha Allen, Them., 22 Aug. 2025 By this, there’s lots of philosophizing in the book that may bother readers who are there for the music. John Tamny, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025 Everyone — a maintenance guy (Matthew Lillard), a funeral director (Carl Lumbly) — seems to want to philosophize about what’s going on, and who the heck Chuck is. Lindsey Bahr, Twin Cities, 5 June 2025 During these heady discussions philosophizing about the long‑term implications of AI research, many employees returned often to Altman’s early analogies between OpenAI and the Manhattan Project. Karen Hao, Wired News, 21 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for philosophize

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of philosophize was in 1594

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Cite this Entry

“Philosophize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosophize. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

philosophize

verb
phi·​los·​o·​phize fə-ˈläs-ə-ˌfīz How to pronounce philosophize (audio)
philosophized; philosophizing
1
: to think like a philosopher
2
: to talk about life as if one were a philosopher
philosophizer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on philosophize

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