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ponder

[pon-der]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to consider something deeply and thoroughly; meditate (often followed by over or upon).
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verb (used with object)
  1. to weigh carefully in the mind; consider thoughtfully: He pondered his next words thoroughly.
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Origin of ponder

1300–50; Middle English pondren < Middle French ponderer < Latin ponderāre to ponder, weigh; akin to pendēre to be suspended, hang (see pend)
Related formspon·der·er, nounre·pon·der, verb (used without object)un·pon·dered, adjectivewell-pon·dered, adjective

Synonyms

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1. reflect, cogitate, deliberate, ruminate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

consider, mull, contemplate, evaluate, deliberate, reflect, examine, weigh, speculate, brood, cerebrate, figure, daydream, debate, study, mind, moon, muse, excogitate, revolve

Examples from the Web for ponder

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Let them ponder on the probability of succeeding with the people.

  • As I eat my breakfast and smoke my pipe, I ponder over my task.

    Ballads of a Bohemian

    Robert W. Service

  • There was so much time for the Little Girl who should have been a Boy to ponder over it.

    The Very Small Person

    Annie Hamilton Donnell

  • He's always in a ponder, ponder, with his mouth open—except when he's grindin' his teeth.

  • But Asad continued to ponder him with cold eyes, his face inscrutable.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for ponder

ponder

verb
  1. (when intr, sometimes foll by on or over) to give thorough or deep consideration (to); meditate (upon)
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Word Origin

C14: from Old French ponderer, from Latin ponderāre to weigh, consider, from pondus weight; related to pendere to weigh
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ponder

v.

early 14c., "to estimate the worth of, to appraise," from Old French ponderer "to weigh, poise" (14c., Modern French pondérer) and directly from Latin ponderare "ponder, consider, reflect," literally "to weigh," from pondus (genitive ponderis) "weigh" (see pound (n.1)). Meaning "to weigh a matter mentally" is attested from late 14c. Related: Pondered; pondering; ponderation.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper