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Synonyms

dwell on

British  

verb

  1. (intr, preposition) to think, speak, or write at length

    it's no good dwelling on your misfortunes
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
dwell on Idioms  

  1. Also, dwell upon. Linger over; ponder, speak or write at length. For example, Let's not dwell on this topic too long; we have a lot to cover today. [c. 1500]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She manages comedy much better than sincerity but Coiro knows how to work around it, punctuating her big speeches with quick cutaways to comic relief so we don’t dwell on them too much.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

But during the greatest turnaround that Silicon Valley has ever seen, Jobs was fanatical about one idea: Apple was a place to invent the future, not dwell on the past.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Since then, leaders of both countries have tended not to dwell on the past in public, but focused on reconciliation.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

In people, this variant influences whether someone tends to dwell on embarrassing experiences or achieve high educational success.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

In general, I understood that it was better for all of us not to acknowledge the hate or dwell on the risk, even when others felt compelled to bring it up.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.