ruminate

[roo-muh-neyt]

See more synonyms for ruminate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), ru·mi·nat·ed, ru·mi·nat·ing.

to chew the cud, as a ruminant.
to meditate or muse; ponder.

verb (used with object), ru·mi·nat·ed, ru·mi·nat·ing.

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

Origin of ruminate

1525–35; < Latin rūminātus (past participle of rūminārī, rūmināre to ruminate), equivalent to rūmin- (stem of rūmen rumen) + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsru·mi·nat·ing·ly, adverbru·mi·na·tion, nounru·mi·na·tive, adjectiveru·mi·na·tive·ly, adverbru·mi·na·tor, nounnon·ru·mi·nat·ing, adjectivenon·ru·mi·nat·ing·ly, adverbnon·ru·mi·na·tion, nounnon·ru·mi·na·tive, adjectiveun·ru·mi·nat·ed, adjectiveun·ru·mi·nat·ing, adjectiveun·ru·mi·nat·ing·ly, adverbun·ru·mi·na·tive, adjective

Synonyms for ruminate

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2. think, reflect.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for ruminative

absorbed, analytical, attentive, brainy, calculating, cerebral, cogitative, contemplative, deep, deliberative, discerning, earnest, engrossed, farsighted, grave, intellectual, intent, keen, levelheaded, logical

Examples from the Web for ruminative

Contemporary Examples of ruminative

The narrator, a Nigerian psychiatry student, is emotionally distant, ruminative, and intellectual.
The Best Debut of 2011
Taylor Antrim
February 7, 2011

Historical Examples of ruminative

Thorpe had concluded his philosophical remarks with ruminative slowness.
The Market-Place
Harold Frederic
Yet it was not exactly a stare; it was too thoughtful, too ruminative, too unconscious for that.
Tristram of Blent
Anthony Hope
She gazed steadily at the glowing coals, ruminative, reflective.
Antony Gray,--Gardener
Leslie Moore
He paused for a while, then went on with ruminative authority.
Ripeness is All
Jesse Roarke
Hers had been a ruminative existence, for its uncertainty but rarely disturbed her.
The Benefactress
Elizabeth Beauchamp

British Dictionary definitions for ruminative

ruminate

verb

(of ruminants) to chew (the cud)
(when intr , often foll by upon, on, etc) to meditate or ponder (upon)

Derived Formsrumination, nounruminative, adjectiveruminatively, adverbruminator, noun

Word Origin for ruminate

C16: from Latin rūmināre to chew the cud, from rumen

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 ruminative

ruminate

1530s, "to turn over in the mind," also "to chew cud" (1540s), from Latin ruminatus, past participle of ruminare "to chew the cud; turn over in the mind," from rumen (genitive ruminis) "gullet," of uncertain origin. Related: Ruminated; ruminating.