Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of ruminate are meditate, muse, and ponder. While all these words mean "to consider or examine attentively or deliberately," 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

When is it sensible to use meditate instead of ruminate?

While in some cases nearly identical to ruminate, 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 muse be a better fit than ruminate?

The synonyms muse and ruminate are sometimes interchangeable, but muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance.

mused upon childhood joys

When is ponder a more appropriate choice than ruminate?

Although the words ponder and ruminate have much in common, ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter.

pondered the course of action

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 ruminate And then the project fell apart, leaving Shackleton with fragments of the unfinished film and time to ruminate on shortcuts and signifiers of the ubiquitous genre. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2025 These include identifying specific stressors, breaking large problems into manageable steps, and taking concrete action rather than ruminating on difficulties. Ashley Lutz, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025 In that time, the actress has ruminated on her relationship with it from the perspective gained with distance. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025 Black spent a lot of time ruminating on this before putting pen to paper. Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ruminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruminate
Verb
  • 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
  • As with many of A24's horror movies, we're left to ponder whether anything supernatural happens as Maud's quest reaches its apotheosis, proving that fanatical belief is enough to inspire great terrors.
    Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Louise Hémon The jury would also like to acknowledge a director whose film transported us into an extreme landscape, and created an unsettling atmosphere that kept us contemplating the nature of lust, education, and violence.
    Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Deacon clatters off in his truck, leaving me to contemplate my new home.
    Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The production draws on a long history of curiosity amusements in which people looked to be entertained by viewing others with unusual or non-normative bodies, especially in nineteenth-century Western circus and dime museums.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
  • But let us, for a second, entertain that fantasy.
    Big Think, Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • If the White House must be remade, let there be a plan; let it be debated; let the financing be transparent and free of kickbacks and corruption.
    Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The Cleveland Browns drafted two rookie quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft, a move that was highly debated at the time and a storyline that hasn't gone away since.
    Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Now, Seven Point is strongly considering Houlihan Lokey to provide the mark-to-market valuation analysis of its portfolio holdings to deliver to investors.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 1 Nov. 2025
  • The 24 entry-level terrace rooms start at 645 square feet, with spacious balconies overlooking the garden; the 14 Upper Terrace rooms, one floor up, are the same size, but considered ocean-facing, given the elevated viewpoint.
    Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In Galaxy Mapper, author Allie Summers and illustrator Sian James introduce readers to French astrophysicist Hélène Courtois, a working scientist who studies cosmography, or mapping the observable universe.
    Caroline Carlson, Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
  • The phenomenon of groupthink has been studied now for decades.
    David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Ruminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruminate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on ruminate

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!