- present participle of muse.
musing
Americanadjective
noun
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing musing
Our Town
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Just Mercy
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"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d" by Walt Whitman
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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.
He noted however that Cuba has "a beautiful piece of land," musing: "You could have beautiful resorts."
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Musk returned fire, calling O’Leary an “utter idiot” who should be fired and musing on the social-media service he owns whether he should buy the airline and install someone named Ryan to run it.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 20, 2026
Those examples have Carnegie Mellon’s Green musing: “Maybe there’s someone writing something now about the U.S. buying Greenland.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
In the changing rooms, a welcoming, ready-made friendship group of Newcastle-supporting team-mates pull on black and white jerseys while musing about early season defeats by Juventus and Inter Milan.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2025
Voldemort’s tone was musing, calm, but Harry’s scar had begun to throb and pulse: Pain was building in his forehead, and he could feel that controlled sense of fury building inside Voldemort.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
