Synonyms of contemplating

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

• pondering
• considering
• debating
• studying
• questioning
• eyeing
• entertaining
• weighing
• exploring
• reviewing
• analyzing
• deliberating
• cogitating
• ruminating
• meditating
• thinking (about or over)
• looking at
• wrestling (with)
• revolving
• mulling (over)
• chewing on
• turning
• digesting
• poring (over)
• perpending
• chewing over
• kicking around
• beating one's brains out (about)
• reminiscing
• reasoning
• reflecting (on or upon)
• cudgeling one's brains (about)
• concluding
• believing
• musing (upon)
• opining
• absorbing
• speculating (about)
• conceiving
• brooding (about or over)
• fretting (about or over)
• dwelling (on or upon)
• second-guessing
• assimilating
• obsessing (about or over)
• fixating (on or upon)
• drinking (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• disregarding
• overlooking
• rejecting
• dismissing
• slighting
• pooh-poohing

2

as in planning

to have in mind as a purpose or goal

he waited patiently, contemplating revenge all the while

Synonyms & Similar Words

• planning
• intending
• looking
• hoping
• going
• trying
• proposing
• wishing
• aiming
• meaning
• designing
• calculating
• meditating
• aspiring
• attempting
• purporting
• considering
• purposing
• pondering
• allowing
• dreaming
• debating
• figuring on
• plotting
• struggling
• endeavoring
• striving
• effecting
• accomplishing
• achieving
• performing
• executing
• mulling (over)
• scheming

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of contemplating

The central bank, meanwhile, is contemplating raising interest rates later this year, potentially issuing its first hike since 2023. — Matt Richardson, CBS News, 25 Aug. 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

My parents, contemplating their mortality, decided to relocate from the Pacific Northwest to an apartment near me. — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2026

Maceta stood contemplating the invincible green of the pastureland. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026

In Florida, Tampa officials are also contemplating expanding its youth curfew. — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

That's the question athletic department staffers, along with donors who have spent a lot of their own money on this experiment, are contemplating before the ball is even kicked off in Dublin, Ireland, later this month. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026

That’s thanks to a protectionist law with decades of staying power that should give companies still contemplating exporting cars from China to the US pause. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2026