as in contemplation
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as in contemplating
to give serious and careful thought to
I'm pondering whether or not I should join another committee
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Recent Examples of pondering
Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 8 Nov. 2025
All the activity on his street Sunday left Smith pondering whether anyone’s safe these days.
—Robb Murray, Twin Cities, 7 Nov. 2025
Just ask the folks who’ve made the college basketball committee which is currently pondering expanding its beautiful bracket to 76 teams.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
Unfortunately for Spags, Allen isn’t pondering life after football.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2025
Gavin Newsom is pondering a White House run.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 26 Oct. 2025
The Forest owner has been pondering his options That is not unusual — the Greek shipping magnate always likes to have a plan B in place.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
That’s 16 days of public silence and private plotting — 16 days of preparing for a case management conference and pondering motions and strategizing for the discovery process and delving into every facet of this year-long case that has no end in sight.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2025
In the book, Keaton reflected on modern standards of beauty, pondering the societal obsession with how things look.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
In this bleak economic environment, professionals who have lost their jobs as a result of AI are likely pondering what their next career move should be; whether to transition into a new industry or profession, or how to beef up their arsenal of skills.
—Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 8 Nov. 2025
All the activity on his street Sunday left Smith pondering whether anyone’s safe these days.
—Robb Murray, Twin Cities, 7 Nov. 2025
Just ask the folks who’ve made the college basketball committee which is currently pondering expanding its beautiful bracket to 76 teams.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
Unfortunately for Spags, Allen isn’t pondering life after football.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2025
Gavin Newsom is pondering a White House run.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 26 Oct. 2025
The Forest owner has been pondering his options That is not unusual — the Greek shipping magnate always likes to have a plan B in place.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
That’s 16 days of public silence and private plotting — 16 days of preparing for a case management conference and pondering motions and strategizing for the discovery process and delving into every facet of this year-long case that has no end in sight.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2025
In the book, Keaton reflected on modern standards of beauty, pondering the societal obsession with how things look.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pondering
Noun
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Both zeroed in on age-old scales and harmonies, extracted them from their usual contexts, and transformed them into objects of contemplation.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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Still, this isn’t about contemplation or quiet reflection.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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I'mPhaedra Trethan, back after a couple of college visits with my teenager, and contemplating this story over my coffee.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
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Why did Tara spend hundreds of days contemplating Thomas, hair styles, loneliness?—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Want to send thoughts or suggestions to Fortune Tech?—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
10 Nov. 2025
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While speaking with Fox News Digital, celebrity matchmaker and relationship expert Alessandra Conti shared her thoughts on Aniston's choice to date a non-celebrity after her series of famous exes.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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At a conference in 1969, when other physicists were debating the very existence of gravitational waves, Weber presented evidence supporting their direct detection.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Nov. 2025
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In this Club Check-in, CNBC's Paulina Likos and Zev Fima break down big tech's massive artificial intelligence spending spree — debating whether these billion-dollar bets will drive long-term cost savings or weigh on near-term returns.—
Paulina Likos,Zev Fima,
CNBC,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Just like in mindfulness meditation, simply observe your mental processes without judgment.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Nov. 2025
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Weil argues that following his anti-inflammatory food pyramid and taking up practices such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi can help prevent and treat these diseases of chronic inflammation.—
Jason Liebowitz,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Most teams could use a hitter like Schwarber in the lineup, especially considering how valuable slugging has become in the modern era.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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Magistrate Judge Reagan Jameson, who handed down the sentence, noted that the defense and prosecution teams felt the plea deal was the best conclusion to come to, considering the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Other ethical considerations will arise as the watches go into production.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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Coming out of Toronto, she was immediately put into awards consideration.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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How Palestinian students adapted to studying in a genocide.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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Mice are often used as models for studying neurological disorders, cancers, and vaccines because of their genetic similarity to humans.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pondering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pondering. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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