philosophize

American  

[fi-los-uh-fahyz] / fɪˈlɒs əˌfaɪz /

especially British, philosophise

verb (used without object)

• philosophizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• philosophized,
  past participle,  past
• philosophizing
  present participle

1. to speculate or theorize, usually in a superficial or imprecise manner.

2. to think or reason as a philosopher.

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philosophize British  

/ fɪˈlɒsəˌfaɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to make philosophical pronouncements and speculations

2. (tr) to explain philosophically

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• philosophization
  noun
• philosophizer
  noun
• overphilosophize
  verb (used without object)
• well-philosophized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• philosophizing
  present
• philosophized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• philosophize
  simple
• philosophizes
  simple
• have philosophized
  perfect
• has philosophized
  perfect
• am philosophizing
  progressive
• are philosophizing
  progressive
• is philosophizing
  progressive
• have been philosophizing
  perfect progressive
• has been philosophizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• philosophized
  simple
• had philosophized
  perfect
• was philosophizing
  progressive
• were philosophizing
  progressive
• had been philosophizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will philosophize
  simple
• will have philosophized
  perfect
• will be philosophizing
  progressive
• will have been philosophizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of philosophize

First recorded in 1585–95; philosoph(y) + -ize

Explanation

To philosophize is to think philosophically or just deeply and reflectively. On a long car trip, after you run out of school gossip, you and your friends might philosophize on the nature of man, or the question "What is beauty?" To philosophize is not exactly the same thing as doing philosophy. Often if we say someone is philosophizing, we are kind of making fun of him, as if all of the sudden he thinks he’s Socrates, but really he’s just parroting Dr. Phil. If you stop driving in the middle of the road to tell your friend a revelation you’ve just had about the nature of suburban society, she might say, “Stop philosophizing and drive!”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

philosophize philosophizes philosophized philosophizing

Rapid-fire pictures of advertisements cause one person to philosophize on the mysteries of life, saying “All of this will never make sense.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

And while I may not take the time to philosophize about my salvation on Sunday, I’m certain I’ll think of her and what my being there would mean to her.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2024

After Hal and Josie’s meet-cute, they see sights blandly, philosophize blandly, blandly tiptoe around the notion of romance, and criticize each other — yes, blandly, but with an occasional touch of “salty” language.

From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2022

His writing, she added, made people “free to philosophize in a way that, to paraphrase Mills’ first intellectual hero Marx, seeks not merely to describe the world, but to transform it.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 1, 2021

I studied philosophy in college and didn’t realize until my senior year that no one would pay me to philosophize when I graduated.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

A character philosophizes on the dizzying pace of change in the late 19th century: “We’ve no say as to the pace of modernity’s advance. I myself am merely its vessel, a humble foot soldier …”

From Salon ● May 31, 2019

To be a good traveler, he philosophizes, one should “put yourself, as a predestinarian might say, calmly into the dice-box of small events, and be shaken out whenever circumstance may ordain.”

From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2018

He narrates and philosophizes as he empties the dishwasher, boils macaroni, combs lice from a child’s hair.

From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2017

“America,” Wednesday philosophizes from the passenger seat, “is the only country in the world that wonders what it is.”

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2017

Harding was the last, but he is becoming a bore; he philosophizes.

From Mike Fletcher A Novel by George (George Augustus) Moore

Unafraid of melodrama and camp, the play raged and philosophized with operatic wit and pathos.

From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2023

"To be a ketchup enthusiast and say tomatoes are trash would be like saying you like peanut butter but hate peanuts," yet another user philosophized.

From Fox News ● Mar. 21, 2022

Poland President Andrzej Duda said he was humbled by the virus and philosophized about global recovery.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2021

Internet-connected photography, he philosophized, necessitated a “a reinvention of the camera.”

From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2017

Samuel may have thought and played and philosophized about death, but he did not really believe in it.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

A bespectacled researcher who often twirls his curly hair, Amodei authors lengthy documents philosophizing about the importance of AI safety and is known for his deliberate approach to problem solving.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026

He soon found out that there are millions of people in this country who are not impressed with his adolescent philosophizing.

From Salon ● May 21, 2025

At times, the series and the star’s media appearances felt as if they were in conversation with each other, with Seinfeld philosophizing about comedy and “Hacks” providing dissents.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2024

But the time for philosophizing is clearly over.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2023

Gilbert’s On the Magnet takes us into a different world; indeed, he claims to be engaged in a new type of philosophizing.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton