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Showing results for "musing"
  • present participle of muse.
Synonyms

musing

American  
[myoo-zing] / ˈmju zɪŋ /

adjective

  1. absorbed in thought; meditative.


noun

  1. contemplation; reflection.

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."

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Vocabulary lists containing musing

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.

See Examples For:

The production, directed by Diane Paulus, opens with Berenger lying slouched against the door of the town cafe, musing on his youth, which has given way to a sense of alienation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 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

He discovered that while he sat helplessly musing he had also been writing, as though by automatic action.

From "1984" by George Orwell

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