ruminate
verb (used without object), ru·mi·nat·ed, ru·mi·nat·ing.
verb (used with object), ru·mi·nat·ed, ru·mi·nat·ing.
Origin of ruminate
OTHER WORDS FROM ruminate
Words nearby ruminate
VOCAB BUILDER
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.
Where does rumination come from?
The first records of rumination come from the 1500s. It derives from the Latin verb rūmināre, meaning “to chew the cud.” Rūmināre comes from the Latin rūmen, which gives us the English rumen—the first of four compartments in the stomach of ruminant animals. Such animals, like cows, eat grass, swallow it, and then regurgitate it and chew it some more. When the food is regurgitated to be chewed again, it’s called cud.
This process of chewing and rechewing is called rumination. You can see how it can be used figuratively: when you ruminate on something, you think it over. In fact, the idioms chew it over and chew the cud both refer to contemplating something for a while. Sometimes you might not be able to stop ruminating. Psychologists use the word rumination to refer to obsessively repeating a particular thought or continuing to think about something, especially a problem, over and over instead of finding a solution or moving on.
Rumination can also refer to a creative work that’s intended as a deep consideration of a particular topic or idea, as in The film was a melancholy rumination on the briefness of life. Its synonyms contemplation and meditation can also be used in this way.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to rumination?
- ruminate (verb)
- ruminations (plural)
What are some synonyms for rumination?
What are some words that share a root or word element with rumination?
What are some words that often get used in discussing rumination?
How is rumination used in real life?
Rumination is generally used in a neutral or positive way to refer to the process of thinking something over. When it’s used in the context of psychology, it refers to behavior that has negative effects on a person.
After much rumination, I have concluded that neither dogs nor cats are intrinsically better than the other. Ones feelings about this subject are subjective, experiential, and contextual. I hope this clears things up.
— Tsar Czar Binks, protector of the buried beans (@SleepyHead_band) April 9, 2018
The danger of dwelling – too much rumination can lead to depression and anxiety new study finds: http://t.co/BaPPauAvnh via @BBCNews
— Mental Health Fdn (@mentalhealth) October 17, 2013
This is such a remarkable story. It is both one of the most gripping wilderness tales I've ever read, and a beautiful rumination on the nature of chaos https://t.co/fWgdJsrZV1
— Mat Honan (@mat) March 22, 2019
Try using rumination!
Is rumination used correctly in the following sentence?
My insomnia is mainly caused by late-night rumination on my mistakes.