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

See Examples For:

musing

A woman wonders about the continuity of all things, musing “In the distance over the horizon, that freeway just keeps going and going; it’s all connected.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Jouppi is the case that asks them to stop musing.

From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026

Later, Feinmann said his words were not directed at the Mexican people — while musing that Sheinbaum had bigger things to worry about, like combating narco-trafficking, violence and corruption.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

He noted however that Cuba has "a beautiful piece of land," musing: "You could have beautiful resorts."

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

I hardly know whether I had slept or not after this musing; at any rate, I started wide awake on hearing a vague murmur, peculiar and lugubrious, which sounded, I thought, just above me.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë