1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

contemplating

verb

present participle of contemplate
1
as in pondering
to give serious and careful thought to she contemplated the problem for several hours before reaching a decision

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in planning
to have in mind as a purpose or goal he waited patiently, contemplating revenge all the while

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 contemplating Some are contemplating returning to their home countries or hoping that another third country agrees to welcome them. — Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026 The debate within the Democratic Party heading into the 2026 midterms offers a preview for those Democrats contemplating presidential bids in 2028. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026 The debate is a preview for 2028 The debate within the Democratic Party heading into the 2026 midterms offers a preview for those Democrats contemplating presidential bids in 2028. — Steve Peoples, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026 While all of this is happening, Paul also reconnects with Ben, a musician who viewers met during Season 4, and begins contemplating yet another relationship. — Krystie Lee Yandoli, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 Moreno, who in 2003 became baseball’s first Latino owner, was still contemplating a potential exit strategy, according to new club president Molly Jolly. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026 In 2023, the Miami Herald reported that Díaz-Canel told a room of Cuban American businesspeople that the Cuban government was contemplating letting Cuban Americans invest in and own businesses on the island, and was working on legislation to do it. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026 Earlier, writer-director Lanctôt won two prizes at Venice in 1984 for her first feature, Sonatine, about two teenage girls contemplating suicide. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026 Just pulsing in their Petri dishes, contemplating moral relativity or migraines. — Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 20 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemplating
  1. pondering
  2. planning
  3. considering
  4. intending
  5. debating
  6. looking
  7. studying
  8. questioning
Verb
  • There’s plenty Duren could be pondering in regard to his value to the team as a whole.
    — Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Kronengold and Shaw are still pondering what will come of that if Adults gets to be renewed.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of pondering
Verb
  • The president is planning to take the stage both nights of the convention, giving a keynote address Wednesday and then closing remarks after Vice President JD Vance gives his own speech the following night.
    — Will Weissert, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Louisiana site moves forward The company is also planning a technology-neutral screening of available small modular reactor designs.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of planning
Verb
  • For many people considering self-insurance, homeowners coverage is still a good use of funds when compared with your net worth, Connor said.
    — Liz Knueven, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The White House is considering whether to host a meeting with AI executives on the sidelines of its summit with Xi next week, but the Chinese would not be invited, an official said.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of considering
Verb
  • Richardson’s trade request has remained intact throughout training camp and the preseason, but assistant GM Ed Dodds strongly hinted in mid-August that the Colts were intending to keep Richardson.
    — James Boyd, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Developer Mikki Schuck bought the building in late 2024 intending to fully renovate the top two stories — previously offices — into luxury apartments and a restaurant once more on the ground floor.
    — Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of intending
Verb
  • Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space in 2012, although scientists are still debating about exactly where that boundary lies.
    — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Schrader approaches some pretty tetchy, third-rail territory, doing some debating about whether one act of child abuse means that John is, inherently, a child abuser by nature.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of debating
Verb
  • Independent producers often find the book, attach the director, and build the financing plan, and only then does the project arrive looking viable and de-risked.
    — Stuart Ford, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2026
  • If there’s a chance the remains of that pilot are there, DPAA will keep looking.
    — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of looking
Verb
  • After studying the scouting report on the reliever during a pitching change, Jones got a hold of one and crushed a 423-foot, three-run blast in Tuesday’s win.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Graphs of Different Flavors In the late 1950s, the American mathematician Edgar Gilbert was studying telephone networks at Bell Labs.
    — Paulina Rowińska, Quanta Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of studying
Verb
  • The panel’s findings led to a surge of media interest in the UK and around the world questioning the strength of the prosecution’s case.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Leaders should continue questioning whether the way their business operates still makes sense for where the company is today.
    — Dmitriy Schwarzburg, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of questioning

Browse Nearby Words

contemplates
contemplating
contemplation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Contemplating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemplating. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All