muse 1 of 2

muse

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word muse different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of muse are meditate, ponder, and ruminate. While all these words mean "to consider or examine attentively or deliberately," muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance.

mused upon childhood joys

When is it sensible to use meditate instead of muse?

While in some cases nearly identical to muse, meditate implies a definite focusing of one's thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply.

meditated on the meaning of life

When might ponder be a better fit than muse?

The meanings of ponder and muse largely overlap; however, ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter.

pondered the course of action

Where would ruminate be a reasonable alternative to muse?

While the synonyms ruminate and muse are close in meaning, ruminate implies going over the same matter in one's thoughts again and again but suggests little of either purposive thinking or rapt absorption.

ruminated on past disappointments

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of muse
Noun
This dynamic took on fresh intensity on Monday, when Trump renewed his criticisms of Pritzker, taunting his physical fitness and musing about sending the National Guard to Chicago. Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 27 Aug. 2025 Once Fogerty started openly musing about wanting his old instrument back, Julie secretly went to work tracking it down. Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Verb
As many of Husain’s contemporaries moved overseas (including Souza and Raza, who relocated to the UK and France, respectively), the painter remained in India, his eternal muse. Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025 A lot of viewers found her the most captivating presence in Part 1 of the doc, with obvious screen charisma that established her as a leading lady after all these years — playing a character that Hollywood couldn’t have invented better, the manager-muse. Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for muse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muse
Noun
  • Over the years, the festival has expanded to include artists, musicians, storytellers, poets, and more, all focused on a theme relevant to the social, religious, and political needs of the Louisville community and beyond.
    Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Chefitz was a mountain climber, soccer player, cross-country motorcyclist, flamenco guitarist, writer and poet — to name just some of his hobbies.
    Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • But beta blockers only address the physical response to anxiety — not the ruminating or worrying.
    The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Now Guillermo del Toro — cinema’s biggest proponent of big-screen fantasy — has completed his two-and-a-half-hour version, an epic adaptation with a blockbuster budget, a stamp of auteurship, and decades spent ruminating on the relevance of Shelley’s text in the modern era.
    Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Like many such venues across America, the Kempner also hosted lectures, minstrel shows, musicals, operas, plays and vaudeville acts, along with community events such as school graduations.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Aug. 2025
  • His grandfather Daniel was a miner who would perish in an underground accident, and his great uncle George owned a minstrel show that toured Western mining camps.
    Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 31 July 2025
Verb
  • Gavin Newsom is pondering a White House run.
    Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Martinez notes that the mind-bending plot has given audiences a cinematic experience to truly ponder.
    William Earl, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The show ends with Tom looking out the window at his garden, perhaps meditating on the nature of redemption.
    Grace Byron, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
  • While the reason behind the celebrations may be different, to commemorate the festival, Sikhs will also go to the Gurdwara to pray and meditate, light diyas and set off fireworks.
    Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Louise Hémon The jury would also like to acknowledge a director whose film transported us into an extreme landscape, and created an unsettling atmosphere that kept us contemplating the nature of lust, education, and violence.
    Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Deacon clatters off in his truck, leaving me to contemplate my new home.
    Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • With new demarcations of land, Pinjar reflects how such violence scaled up.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Dacus recently joined Janelle Monae for Rolling Stone‘s Musicians on Musicians to reflect on her creative process and her role as an artist.
    Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Congressional Budget Office projects the total national debt will exceed $38 trillion by 2029, growing roughly $7 trillion a year.
    Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Investors also overwhelmingly expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point this week, while the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are projected to keep borrowing costs steady.
    Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Muse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muse. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.

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