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 Though his characters tend to sidestep spirituality, Wilson doesn't and is often ruminating on life, death and whatever follows. Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025 Justice notes these preoccupations often impact our wellness in subtle and overlooked ways that can add up to significant harm like sleep disturbance, irritability, uncontrolled worry, ruminating about the ‘what ifs,’ exhaustion, burnout, and over-functioning. Essence, 27 Aug. 2025 Virgos are known for their analytical skills, but can be prone to taking the analysis a little too far and ruminating over matters. Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 19 Aug. 2025 They’re left to ruminate in isolation instead. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ruminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruminate
Verb
  • Instead, the Mets are back to square one, pondering a new kind of disappointment.
    Tim Britton, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Over a mashup of fiddles and guitars, Tod and Jennings blend their rough-hewn voices on a song about consequences for older vices and choices, pondering when the consequences of those actions outweigh the vices themselves.
    Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Hoover bounces back with a clean game, while Coach Prime contemplates making a quarterback change.
    Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Oct. 2025
  • In 2024, almost one in four Americans experienced mental illness, almost 18% had substance abuse problems and over 5% had contemplated suicide, according to the news release.
    Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The historic Belcourt Theatre will entertain all the Music City cinephiles.
    Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 1 Oct. 2025
  • All of these films have been heavily influenced by 20th century pulp fiction writers, but for his latest movie, Black goes directly to the source, adapting one of the genre’s key figures for an action-comedy as offbeat, idiosyncratic, and entertaining as any Black has made.
    Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • On Sept 5, 2024, a year before his death, Charlie Kirk was debating at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
    Meagan Jordan, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The effect is to infuse the story with an undeniable and knowing nostalgia; how quaint, at Alma’s party, to find everyone debating matters of representational consequence.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Front Office Sports reported Friday that Stars ownership is considering a site in Plano, Texas, approximately 20 miles from Dallas.
    Rob Rossi, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2025
  • In traditional Chinese medicine, this spice is considered to have antiseptic and digestive benefits.
    Susan Selasky, Freep.com, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • But those who study the stars say this is a fact long known by ancient astronomers, and the disconnect is essentially an intentional feature of the zodiac, not a bug.
    N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Advertisement You were born in China and studied at Tsinghua and then Stanford and then worked in Silicon Valley.
    Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

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

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