1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

ruminated

verb

past tense of ruminate
as in pondered
to give serious and careful thought to the minister hoped that the congregation would spend the remainder of the week ruminating the message of his sermon

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 ruminated The actor’s outfit was adapted from Ackermann’s Fall-Winter 2026 ready-to-wear collection, which ruminated on the language of desire and seduction, and the magnetism of opposites. — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026 Shanahan ruminated on that topic in his news conference following the 49ers 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts Monday. — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 23 Dec. 2025 As part of saluting the filmmakers, actors, and artisans responsible for some of the most exciting cinematic works of the year, Thomas next ruminated on the true meaning of both activism and, ahem, IndieWire. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 5 Dec. 2025 Trump has long ruminated on his desire to win the prize. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 17 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruminated
  1. pondered
  2. contemplated
  3. debated
  4. considered
  5. entertained
  6. studied
  7. questioned
Verb
  • In a July 2025 text chain, an agent pondered whether facial recognition tools could be used to identify people on TikTok who admitted to being in the country illegally.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026
  • In a July interview with Rolling Stone, Foreman pondered why his story went viral.
    — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2026
Definition of pondered
Verb
  • Nvidia and other chipmakers fell more than 3% as investors contemplated the possibility that frontier labs could deliberately slow model development, and thus the massive infrastructure buildout thus far designed to support it.
    — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026
  • At the southern tip of Key Biscayne, where Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic meet, developers had contemplated ambitious projects for what is now Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of contemplated
Verb
  • The proposal was first up for a vote in July, but was postposed twice as board members debated where the additional money might come from.
    — Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
  • But whether or not that confession should legally be used to prosecute him has been widely debated.
    — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of debated
Verb
  • Potential Risks of Drinking Green Tea Green tea is generally considered safe and healthy when consumed in normal amounts, such as a few cups a day.
    — Jillian Kubala, HEALTH, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Nearly one in five young people in Britain – 19% – have not even considered learning to drive because of the expense, according to a poll by the price comparison website.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of considered
Verb
  • Yes; families are clearly the property's sweet spot, thanks to extensive kids programming, multiple pools, and a schedule of activities that keeps younger travelers entertained from morning until night.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Borden entertained O’Neil and other actors at her Maplecroft mansion in Fall River.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of entertained
Verb
  • Pricing plans, rebate information and outage status were flagged as the most consistently difficult content for customers to navigate across every utility digital channel studied.
    — Amber Mullaney, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Voskanyan had studied in Armenia to be a dentist and later worked a variety of jobs in America including in construction and jewelry and as a dental technician.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of studied
Verb
  • The methodology of Milgram’s experiments as well as similar ones has been recently questioned and the numbers disputed.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Timothy Westlake, chief of staff at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration who is seeking confirmation to be assistant secretary for mental health and substance use, was also questioned.
    — FATIMA HUSSEIN, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of questioned

Browse Nearby Words

ruminate
ruminated
ruminates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ruminated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruminated. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 aggrandize

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
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
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All