Showing results for "musing"

• present participle of muse.

musing

American  

[myoo-zing] / ˈmju zɪŋ /

adjective

1. absorbed in thought; meditative.

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noun

1. contemplation; reflection.

Other Word Forms

• unmusing
  adjective
• musingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of musing

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; see muse, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Explanation

Use the adjective musing to describe something that's reflective or thoughtful, like a musing diary entry that explores the meaning of life. When you ponder or contemplate, you muse, and anything that appears this way can be described as musing. You might love your English teacher's musing responses to students' questions or grow bored by a French film's slow, musing quality. You can also use the word as a noun meaning "period of reflection," although it's most often written as the plural musings: "This book is nothing but the author's musings about his cat."

Example Sentences

Musing on movies about the nuclear threat and broader Cold War issues, Oliphant taps into his years as an ’80s high school student who could not learn to stop worrying and love the bomb.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2024

Musing on why some pizza isn't great for our waist lines, he writes "the only question is whether it is an ultra-processed food".

From Salon • Jan. 16, 2024

Musing on mortality: A feminist French rabbi is drawing atheists, Christians and Jews to her talks on death.

From New York Times • Oct. 2, 2022

Musing that “I really don’t think he’s that stupid,” she said he knows how immunity works and why people need flu shots and tetanus boosters.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 9, 2021

Musing, lost in the scene, I did not notice that the dogs were slowing and had stopped until my stomach rammed into the handlebar of the sled.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen