Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of meditate are muse, ponder, and ruminate. While all these words mean "to consider or examine attentively or deliberately," meditate implies a definite focusing of one's thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply.

meditated on the meaning of life

When can muse be used instead of meditate?

The meanings of muse and meditate largely overlap; however, muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance.

mused upon childhood joys

Where would ponder be a reasonable alternative to meditate?

The words ponder and meditate can be used in similar contexts, but ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter.

pondered the course of action

When is ruminate a more appropriate choice than meditate?

In some situations, the words ruminate and meditate are roughly equivalent. However, 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 meditate Hike part of the Appalachian trail, meditate by a waterfall, forest bathe, or forage for medicinal plants with a guide. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2025 Neither of the other Jedi answered, just accepted the reality of the situation, and all four moved toward the circle of meditating Jedi. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 May 2025 Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception. Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 May 2025 Running is also a good time to meditate on my work. Jake Stern, Outside Online, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for meditate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meditate
Verb
  • While Leslie’s book is largely about Lennon, McCartney and their fruitful collaborations, contemplate what George Harrison became.
    John Tamny, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
  • Wright decided to come out after contemplating suicide in 2006.
    Jeff Nelson, People.com, 30 June 2025
Verb
  • Basically, the administration intends to fix the budget shortfall by using a soft-hand approach with hiring, personnel and operational matters.
    Terina Allen, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
  • Striped Button-downs Nautical stripes have been making major waves this summer (no pun intended), especially in the form of a breezy button-down top.
    Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 28 June 2025
Verb
  • The modern 55 and older homebuyer isn’t looking to sit all day on a recliner pondering our end of life options.
    Jamie Gold, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • The two countries have been engaged in aerial strikes and Trump had been pondering U.S. involvement for the past week.
    Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • At the time, the app was only streaming sports trading card sellers but was planning to expand.
    Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 30 June 2025
  • Less than a decade later, Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in more than dozen other states had converted to for-profits, typically highly controversial proposals, given questions about what was to become of their billions of dollars of assets.
    Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2025
Verb
  • The band’s repertoire will include a variety of music to entertain audiences of all ages.
    Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2025
  • There’s no pressure to perform, no need to entertain or constantly talk.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Verb
  • The transponders onboard Relay 2 stopped responding to radio signals in June 1967, after which point the satellite went silent—until last June.
    Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
  • As the story goes, Jackson Pollock stepped onto a canvas in 1947, drizzled some paint here and there, and God reached a bony finger down from the heavens and pressed it upon the scale of art history, tilting it from Europe to the United States.
    Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • Some consider Olean to be in the upper most region of Appalachia, a Rustbelt stereotype that— since 1974, the year of the shooting, has seen its population dwindle from 18,600 to 14,000.
    Sally Ventura June 23, Literary Hub, 23 June 2025
  • That covert intervention brought something few in Washington had considered: decades of suppression of anyone deemed as an opponent of the Shah’s brutal regime.
    Robert Polner, New York Daily News, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • With the Dolphins, Waller hopes to be a force on offense.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2025
  • While the elimination of the commercial lease tax is final, Higgins and others who have been pushing for the Northeast Corridor rail project hope Perez will help Miami-Dade find other matching dollars when the Florida Legislature reconvenes at the end of 2025.
    Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 1 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Meditate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meditate. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.

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