Synonyms

ruminate

American

[roo-muh-neyt] / ˈru məˌneɪt /

verb (used without object)

to meditate or muse; ponder.

Synonyms:

reflect, think
Psychology. to obsessively revisit the same thought or theme over and over again.
to chew the cud, as a ruminant.

verb (used with object)

to chew again or over and over.
to meditate on; ponder.

ruminate British

/ ˈruːmɪˌneɪt /

verb

(of ruminants) to chew (the cud)
to meditate or ponder (upon)

"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

Usage

What does ruminate mean? To ruminate is to carefully think something over, ponder it, or meditate on it. It can also mean to chew over and over again, as is done by ruminant animals, like cows. In psychology, the term means to obsessively repeat thoughts or excessively think about problems. In all cases, the process of ruminating is called rumination. Example: After ruminating about it for months, I have decided to pursue a new career.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of ruminate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin rūminātus (past participle of rūminārī, rūmināre “to ruminate”), equivalent to rūmin- (stem of rūmen “throat, gullet”; see rumen) + -ātus past participle suffix ( see -ate ¹)

Explanation

When you ruminate, it means you are thinking very deeply about something. You're likely to be so lost in thought that you stare off into space and don't hear people when they call your name. Another meaning of ruminate is to "chew the cud," which can mean "to turn it over and over in your mind." Or, if you're a cow, to turn food over and over in your stomachs in order to digest it. Whether you're a human or a cow, if you ruminate, it will take a LONG time.

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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:

ruminate ruminates ruminated ruminating

This leaves investors and analysts to ruminate amongst themselves.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

"It's the gift we give to an audience, it's just to ruminate on that very serious subject, antisemitism, cruelty of all kinds, hatred of the other," Lithgow said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

“I try not to ruminate on the past but look to the future,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

After Eva and Ryland briefly ruminate on fear and primal instinct, Ryland’s otherwise direct and unemotional government superior takes to the mic, performing a cover of Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times.”

From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026

Abigail heard him out about the doomed course of the French Revolution but was somewhat more sanguine: “I ruminate upon France as I lie awake many hours before light,” she wrote.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

From this place of old age and treatable illness, Julian ruminates on the fallible nature of memory and its role in shaping our identities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

Bruce ruminates over Flannery O’Connor stories and Terrence Malick’s 1973 crime drama “Badlands,” which he happens upon while channel surfing one night.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025

Across a series of intimate dialogues, the film, adapted from a 1987 novel by Taichi Yamada, ruminates on the estrangement of a generation of gay men and the healing refuges of both companionship and fiction.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2023

Over his over two-decade-long career and 10 stand-up specials, Gaffigan has gained a reputation as a "clean" comic, the guy who ruminates about bacon and the challenges of raising his brood of five kids.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2023

After a scientific expedition to America, Aronnax ruminates over the true nature of the incidents.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

“I wonder if the Ancient Mariner in his latter days got really tired of rehearsing his old trauma,” she ruminated in an essay.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

Having always taken her work to heart in an all-consuming way, Bates has often ruminated about the unspoken emotional cost of being an actor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024

However, when the reindeer ruminated, this slow-wave activity was decreased during subsequent sleep, and the more they ruminated, the more the slow-wave activity decreased.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2023

In the six decades since, Lawrence Wright has ruminated often on his old hometown and how it’s different than it used to be.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2023

They ruminated a little over the game and how close they had come.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

When we’re daydreaming and ruminating and self-reflecting and mentally time-traveling or imagining other people’s thoughts, we’re not present.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

Hill had been ruminating about a tell-all book from the early stages of the trial, a clerk from a neighboring county who’d assisted her testified at an evidentiary hearing on the jury-tampering complaint.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

That picture is complex, but ruminating on your actions can quickly become torturous.

From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2026

Of course, some anger and frustration will come out during these talks, but long-term wallowing and ruminating on perceived unfairness can be more damaging than the layoff itself.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026

Her notes, released with Reggie’s permission, read: “He reports some ruminating and wishing more than anything else he had not been on the road at that moment.”

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023