Synonyms of ponders

ponders

verb

present tense third-person singular of ponder

as in contemplates

to give serious and careful thought to

I'm pondering whether or not I should join another committee

Synonyms & Similar Words

• contemplates
• considers
• entertains
• debates
• explores
• weighs
• questions
• eyes
• ruminates
• studies
• deliberates
• analyzes
• meditates
• thinks (about or over)
• reviews
• revolves
• looks at
• cogitates
• wrestles (with)
• pores (over)
• mulls (over)
• turns
• chews on
• perpends
• reminisces
• chews over
• digests
• cudgels one's brains (about)
• believes
• opines
• concludes
• beats one's brains out (about)
• reflects (on or upon)
• muses (upon)
• reasons
• kicks around
• conceives
• speculates (about)
• absorbs
• broods (about or over)
• second-guesses
• frets (about or over)
• obsesses (about or over)
• dwells (on or upon)
• assimilates
• fixates (on or upon)
• drinks (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignores
• disregards
• overlooks
• rejects
• dismisses
• slights
• pooh-poohs

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ponders

Vieira ponders the dilemma from his own perspective as a coach, having had spells in charge at New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa. — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 June 2026

As coach John Hynes ponders his Game 1 starter, the recent numbers will show that Wallstedt has allowed a total of four goals in his final two regular-season starts, while veteran Filip Gustavsson has been touched for 10 in the same span. — Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 15 Apr. 2026

While Heinrich ponders the misfiring neurons in the brain of a mass shooter, Jack’s pursuit of Mink—a character whose skin color and ambiguous ethnicity Jack remarks on repeatedly—leads him directly into the urban teeth of the War on Drugs. — Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026

Who ever ponders the conveniences of that 20th century innovation, the airplane, that makes 21st century hustle possible? — Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026

Who ever ponders the conveniences of that 20th-century innovation, the airplane, that makes 21st-century hustle possible? — CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026

That novel ponders the problem of a great artist, or someone we’re invited to believe is a great artist, tangled in the moral compromises of making art under the conditions of the Third Reich. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026

The new season of The Comeback arrives in 2026, perhaps the most perilous time Hollywood has ever faced as the town anxiously ponders how AI might shape, or decimate, the industry in the coming years. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026

Meanwhile, Derek’s mother-in-law visits, and Paul ponders his legacy. — Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Mar. 2026