musing 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of musingnext
as in melancholy
given to or marked by long, quiet thinking he was clearly in a musing mood, and did not feel like talking just then

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

musing

2 of 3

noun

as in meditation

Related Words

musing

3 of 3

verb

present participle of muse
as in pondering

Related 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 musing
Noun
Her musing invited me, too, to return to my original deep fascination with this ability of plants that had become routine scientific knowledge to me. — Beronda L. Montgomery, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026 Come for the stories of their first Stoppard experiences, stay for the heartwarming musing about Stoppard’s impact on their lives! — Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025 Reddit user u/TotalThing7 shared a nostalgic musing in the subreddit r/CasualConversation after watching a 1990s TV show. — Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025 That’s one philosophical musing. — Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for musing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for musing
  1. melancholy
  2. meditation
  3. pondering
  4. thoughtful
  5. contemplation
  6. ruminating
  7. reflective
  8. reverie
Adjective
  • Do the Emmys feel melancholy at all because your whole company could look different very soon?
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026
  • For Brown, the evening, though tinged with melancholy, amounted to a small triumph of transmission.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 3 July 2026
Definition of melancholy
Noun
  • The nurturing Moon in your 12th House of Solitude conjoins sudden Uranus there, so flashes of insight may surface in dreams, meditation, or a quiet shower.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 11 July 2026
  • Counseling and therapy practices are also adopting the tech, since the OPUS SoundBed is used to amplify modalities like IASIS MCN and EMDR by translating meditations and music into full-body vibration.
    — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of meditation
Verb
  • Bravo is sipping its cuppa and pondering what to do about those interesting ladies across the pond.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 July 2026
  • Some viewers appear to enjoy seeing the princess in modern settings, pondering over what could have been if her life wasn't cut short.
    — Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of pondering
Adjective
  • February 19 – March 20 A thoughtful agreement could make a connection feel sweeter and easier to trust.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 9 July 2026
  • Henrietta was a thoughtful, interesting person, and contributor to some of the most important early works of evolutionary science.
    — Leah Hudson, Popular Science, 9 July 2026
Definition of thoughtful
Noun
  • Trish and Dan Bell Chapel The Trish and Dan Bell Chapel will serve as a gathering place for worship, contemplation and spiritual strengthening at FIU.
    — Florida International University, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
  • Many crude laughs were bolstered by the attached contemplation.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 June 2026
Definition of contemplation
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 adult animation follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats from all walks of society, who seek companionship while ruminating on everyday life.
    — Rick Ellis, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of ruminating
Adjective
  • The resurgence of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s long-running shock comedy and cultural satire is, at the very least, reflective of the actual show’s cultural footprint in the past year.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 10 July 2026
  • These drops nourish skin with a combination of tsubaki oil, avocado seed oil, and squalane, while reflective mica delivers a subtle glow.
    — Deanna Pai, Vogue, 10 July 2026
Definition of reflective
Noun
  • The two actors rarely share a scene together, the floor between their apartments providing a barrier to human connection, and the musical reveries become a means of escape from a dying world.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 July 2026
  • Jackass Forever, a much better movie, did a lot of this stuff, too, serving as a reverie while also delivering mostly new material.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Definition of reverie

Browse Nearby Words

musicians
musing
musing (over)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Musing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/musing. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on musing

Nglish: Translation of musing for Spanish Speakers

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 yaw

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

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

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
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
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All