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.

---

philosophize British  

/ fɪˈlɒsəˌfaɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to make philosophical pronouncements and speculations

2. (tr) to explain philosophically

---

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

But that proved impossible, given the bench’s outdoor life, where it was used as a jungle gym for neighborhood kids, or a couch for friends to sit and philosophize about this piece of movie history.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2025

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

Many of the thinkers he surveys, from Lao Tzu and Aristotle to Montaigne and Spinoza, have tried to philosophize their way to tranquility, but no one has quite succeeded.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 24, 2020

Why in the world would she philosophize about the finish line?

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

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

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

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2017

“We that are young shall never see so much,” Edgar philosophizes as the play comes to a close, its devastation complete.

From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2011

You know not how it elevates the spirits and, so to speak, philosophizes the whole system of man.

From The Evil Eye; Or, The Black Spector The Works of William Carleton, Volume One by William Carleton

"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

As the G20 summit ended, Mr. Obama philosophized, “I think we all have to recognize these are turbulent times. A lot of countries are seeing volatile politics.”

From Washington Times ● Sep. 5, 2016

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

A few wisps of plot materialize in between sips of wine and dollops of philosophizing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

Stephens doesn’t seem to believe in all this action, often stopping it cold so that characters can offer some blue-plate philosophizing.

From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2023

After eighteen sentences that mix wistful nostalgia with abstract philosophizing, the reverie is punctured by a stark revelation.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker