muse 1 of 2

noun

Definition of musenext
as in poet
a person who writes poetry where is the muse who will sing of this man's great and noble deeds?

Synonyms & Similar Words

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muse

2 of 2

verb

as in to ruminate

Related Words

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
All of these have a basis in her life, which also included the role of devoted wife and muse to the muralist Diego Rivera, and the part of avant-garde painter creatively mixing Mexican folk art with Surrealism. — Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 The automobile has long been Manzoni’s muse. — The Editors, Robb Report, 27 June 2026
Verb
When EviDenS de Beauté launched 20 years ago, founder Charles-Edouard Barthes started the brand as a love letter to his wife and muse Eriko Nakamura. — Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 13 Nov. 2025 Taken one at a time, the deployments can seem random or fickle — Trump will often muse about sending troops into a city, only to back track his comments and focus on a different city days later. — Kat Lonsdorf, NPR, 3 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for muse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muse
  1. poet
  2. ruminate
  3. minstrel
  4. ponder
  5. meditate
  6. contemplate
  7. reflect
  8. project
Noun
  • What the line break is to the poet, the page turn is to the children’s-book author, and Klassen knows just how much suspense his readers can bear (or fish, or bird, or ghost).
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 7 July 2026
  • Valerie Hsiung is a poet and the author of eight collections of poetry, prose, and hybrid writing, including The pedestrian (Nightboat, 2026) and The Naif (2024).
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
Definition of poet
Verb
  • Carmy is still figuring out his next move, interviewing for an internship at an architecture firm while ruminating on his experience at the Bear.
    — Jen Chaney, Vulture, 26 June 2026
  • The characters have little time to make life-or-death decisions, let alone ruminate, and the action vacillates between triage and doctors expertly improvising solutions — like Mel (Taylor Dearden) donating her own blood, and Javadi (Shabana Azeez) going MacGyver mode with a tracheal tube.
    — EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026
Definition of ruminate
Noun
  • The musician-scholar Rhiannon Giddens, a leading interpreter of 19th-century American songs, told me that discussing Foster’s context is difficult because minstrel entertainment is so little understood today.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
  • They were published in the North and South, performed in racist minstrel shows and polite parlors, and sung by abolitionists and defenders of enslavement alike.
    — Christopher Lynch, The Conversation, 1 July 2026
Definition of minstrel
Verb
  • This anxiety often leads to rumination, where individuals endlessly ponder potential outcomes without actual preparation, mistakenly equating thinking with problem-solving.
    — Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • Bravo is sipping its cuppa and pondering what to do about those interesting ladies across the pond.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 July 2026
Definition of ponder
Verb
  • In the clip, the pair meditate while wearing matching Norway jerseys and soccer apparel.
    — Jaclyn Hendricks, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
  • Not everyone needs to journal, and there’s more than one way to meditate.
    — Jann E. Freed, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of meditate
Verb
  • Emergency experts working day and night contemplated various entry and exit routes from the nearest accessible access point, about 75 feet away from where Gil was trapped.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
  • With a new album out this summer—her first in a decade—Madonna’s reemergence on the pop scene has left many of us contemplating her ultimate place in its firmament.
    — Alex Frank, Vogue, 2 July 2026
Definition of contemplate
Verb
  • Or just a phase, as audiences and designers reflect the culture swirling around them?
    — Lucy Maguire, Vogue, 6 July 2026
  • Poland, the Baltic states, and Nordic countries have moved fastest, reflecting their proximity to Russia.
    — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 6 July 2026
Definition of reflect
Verb
  • One faction argues that battle-ground states are won by re-assuring swing voters and projecting moderation.
    — Nik Popli, Time, 8 July 2026
  • Pet industry spending hit $158 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $165 billion this year, according to the American Pet Products Association, and a growing share of that money is going into the home itself.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of project

Browse Nearby Words

muscularly
muse
mused
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Cite this Entry

“Muse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muse. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on muse

Nglish: Translation of muse for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about muse

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