rumination
Americannoun
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the act of pondering or musing on something.
Understanding little of what was happening, I was semiconsciously storing away experiences, impressions, and ideas for later rumination.
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something written or spoken that expresses such pondering or musing.
Her blog posts contain notes of spirituality, ruminations on the meaning of experience, and glimpses of her multifaceted life.
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Psychology. excessive, repetitive thinking focused on the same, usually negative, idea or theme: characteristic of some obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders.
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the act or process of chewing the cud, as cows, deer, and some other animals do.
Rumination helps cows efficiently turn grass, corn, and other feed into nutrient-dense milk.
Usage
What does rumination mean? Rumination is the process of carefully thinking something over, pondering it, or meditating on it.In psychology, the term refers to obsessive repetition of thoughts or excessively thinking about problems. Rumination can also refer to the process of chewing over and over again, as is done by ruminant animals, like cows.Rumination is the noun form of the verb ruminate, which can mean to think over or ponder, or to chew over and over.Example: After much rumination and soul-searching, I have decided to pursue a new career.
Other Word Forms
- nonrumination noun
Etymology
Origin of rumination
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin stem of rūminātiō “a chewing of the cud,” equivalent to rūmināt(us) “chewed over again” (stem of rūmināre; ruminate ( def. ) ) + -iō -ion ( def. )
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.
It would look and feel like a western, but it was a rumination on a life itself.
From Los Angeles Times
Perhaps more consequential are the ruminations on fate, justice and politics.
From BBC
Soon, though, the wisecrack gives way to more sober ruminations.
From Los Angeles Times
This task finally tore Penelope’s mind away from her ruminations about how many degrees of dead there might be, and back to the bright, cozy nursery and the extremely lively children who lived there.
From Literature
It was only when her sister heard it and commented on the lyrics that she realised it was really a rumination on death.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
