ruminates

verb

present tense third-person singular of ruminate
as in ponders
to give serious and careful thought to the minister hoped that the congregation would spend the remainder of the week ruminating the message of his sermon

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ruminates The most tonally bizarre Apes movie ruminates on that question with a mixture of money-saving light comedy and mic-drop grimness. — Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026 As such, the work ruminates on the gendered impact of the violence of war and the absence of the voices of women and children, ironically the most affected groups, in global strife. — Zehra Jumabhoy, Artforum, 25 June 2026 Delery ruminates on her wastrel youth. — Literary Hub, 9 Apr. 2026 The father ruminates about the terror inside the school. — Krys Malcolm Belc, Vogue, 3 Feb. 2026 However, in its second episode, dedicated to the limitations of Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington) and Yasmin’s (Marisa Abela) newfound marital bliss, the financial drama ruminates on generational trauma and the grace partners afford each other in times of crisis. — Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 18 Jan. 2026 Across seven tracks, Tems ruminates on power, love, spirituality, mixed perceptions, and complicated feelings. — Nelson C.j, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruminates
  1. ponders
  2. contemplates
  3. entertains
  4. considers
  5. debates
  6. weighs
Verb
  • As is often the case in both real life and the movies, this modern millennial lady ponders this very question all the time.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Nacua, who expects to play against the 49ers as the NFL ponders a potential suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, returned to practice last week.
    — Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of ponders
Verb
  • Housing starts slumped in September, raising fresh concerns about the state of the real estate market as the Federal Reserve contemplates additional interest rate hikes.
    — Sean Conlon,Lee Ying Shan,Fred Imbert, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Given the enormous threat AI poses to millions of jobs, the governor’s framework thoughtfully contemplates how to center Maryland workers in regulation of this technology.
    — Matt Post, Baltimore Sun, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of contemplates
Verb
  • What always entertains me so much about those types of conspiracies is that reality is just as crazy.
    — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The Kings Dancers and Breakers will perform, while team mascot Slamson entertains the crowd.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of entertains
Verb
  • The Commission’s sovereignty framework considers the extent to which investment, jobs and value creation remain within the EU and European Economic Area.
    — Margot Edelman, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Biz2Credit considers applicants who have been in business for 12 months.
    — Dan Avery, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of considers
Verb
  • But on Monday, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan likened many of the investors drawn to the AI boom to gamblers and questioned the economics of AI labs as Wall Street debates whether the AI bubble will burst.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Co-star Tom Blyth will surely hold his own in Michael Arden’s production of a play that debates whether the rule of law in a democracy can fully protect us from a dangerous world.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of debates
Verb
  • The single-seat aircraft weighs about 253 pounds with batteries and includes a ballistic parachute and an automatic landing function.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
  • California weighs factors like time spent in the state and business ties when deciding who counts as a resident.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of weighs

Browse Nearby Words

ruminated
ruminates
ruminating
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ruminates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruminates. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All