ruminate

verb ru·mi·nate \ ˈrü-mə-ˌnāt \

|Updated on: 21 Jul 2018

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Examples: ruminate in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of ruminate

ruminated; ruminating

transitive verb

1 : to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly

2 : to chew repeatedly for an extended period

intransitive verb

1 : to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed : chew the cud

2 : to engage in contemplation : reflect

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rumination

play \ˌrü-mə-ˈnā-shən\ noun

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ruminative

play \ˈrü-mə-ˌnā-tiv\ adjective

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ruminatively

adverb

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ruminator

play \ˈrü-mə-ˌnā-tər\ noun

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Examples of ruminate in a Sentence

The question got us ruminating on the real value of wealth.
He ruminated over the implications of their decision.

Recent Examples of ruminate from the Web

Rapper and professional provocateur Kanye West, ruminating on one of the bleakest chapters in American history while visiting TMZ's headquarters.

— doug criss, CNN, "5 things for May 2: Trump, Arizona teachers, migrants, Armenia, air pollution," 2 May 2018
Henrikson ruminates on other purposes the trees might have served, including rites of passage for young adults, shamanism and even astronomy.

— Anchorage Daily News, "What made the hollowed out ‘fire trees’ of the Tongass? An artist turns investigator to find an answer," 23 June 2018
In rare cases, Bell ruminates on the saturation of color, as with a series of red-hued boxes featured in last year’s Whitney Biennial.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Tech Meets Fine Art in Larry Bell’s Glass Cubes," 22 June 2018
Look further back, though, and ruminating on the human flaws of our leaders, and also on how their human flaws made them our leaders, has been a preoccupation at least since antiquity.

— holman w. jenkins, WSJ, "Should Presidents Be ‘Good’ People?," 4 May 2018
Across town, Helene Gross has been ruminating over the Republican candidates.

— yvonne wingett sanchez, azcentral, "Kelli Ward may have missed her shot in the GOP primary for Senate. Here's why," 11 June 2018
On a recent afternoon, Mr. Viliani began a packed tour by ruminating, fittingly, on a Pompeian door.

— jason horowitz, New York Times, "The (Really) Old and New Meet in Naples," 3 Jan. 2018
Instead of just ruminating on worst-case scenarios, play them out to their logical conclusions.

— carolyn l. todd, SELF, "7 Tips for Managing Your Anxiety About Traveling," 17 May 2018
Glover appears to be ruminating on it in his work of late, boiling it down to its component ugliness, especially in the final few episodes of Atlanta this season.

— sonia saraiya, HWD, "The Survival Instincts of Atlanta’s Flawless Second Season," 11 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ruminate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

When you ruminate you chew something over, either literally or figuratively. Literal rumination may seem a little gross to humans, but to cows, chewing your cud (that's partially digested food brought up from the stomach for another chew) is just a natural part of life. Figurative ruminating is much more palatable to humans; that kind of deep, meditative thought is often deemed quite a worthy activity. The verb "ruminate" has described metaphorical chewing over since the 1500s and actual chewing since the early 1600s. Our English word derives from and shares the meanings of the Latin ruminari, which in turn derives from "rumen," the Latin name for the first stomach compartment of ruminant animals (that is, creatures like cows that chew their cud).

Origin and Etymology of ruminate

Latin ruminatus, past participle of ruminari to chew the cud, muse upon, from rumin-, rumen rumen; perhaps akin to Sanskrit romantha act of chewing the cud

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1533

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

ruminate Synonyms

Synonyms

chew over, cogitate, consider, contemplate, debate, deliberate, entertain, eye, kick around, meditate, mull (over), perpend, ponder, pore (over), question, revolve, study, think (about or over), turn, weigh, wrestle (with);

Near Antonyms

disregard, ignore, overlook, slight;

dismiss, pooh-pooh (also pooh), reject;

analyze, explore, review;

conclude, reason;

second-guess, speculate (about);

brood (about or over), dwell (on or upon), fixate (on or upon), fret (about or over), obsess (about or over);

believe, conceive, opine;

absorb, assimilate, digest, drink (in);

Phrases

beat one's brains out (about), chew on, cudgel one's brains (about), look at;

Synonym Discussion of ruminate

ponder, meditate, muse, ruminate mean to consider or examine attentively or deliberately. ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter.