rumination
Other forms: ruminations
If someone asks you to make a difficult decision — like what to have for dinner — it might lead to rumination, or a long period of deep thought.
Use the noun rumination when there's thoughtful consideration going on. If your grandfather answers every question by saying, "Hmm. Let me think about that," he is a fan of rumination. It comes from the verb ruminate, which means "to think deeply," but also means "to chew the cud." Both words come from the Latin word ruminatus, which has the same meaning and which is rooted in rumen, or "gullet."
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a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
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synonyms:
contemplation, musing, reflection, reflexion, thoughtfulness
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types:
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cogitation, study
attentive consideration and meditation
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meditation, speculation
continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a deep or abstruse nature
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meditation
(religion) contemplation of spiritual matters (usually on religious or philosophical subjects)
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introspection, self-contemplation, self-examination
the contemplation of your own thoughts and desires and conduct
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retrospect
contemplation of things past
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lucubration
laborious cogitation
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self-analysis, soul-searching
a penetrating examination of your own beliefs and motives
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examen, examination
a detailed inspection of your conscience (as done daily by Jesuits)
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type of:
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consideration
the process of giving careful thought to something
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(of ruminants) chewing (the cud)“ruminants have remarkable powers of rumination”
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type of:
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chew, chewing, manduction, mastication
biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow
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chew, chewing, manduction, mastication
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regurgitation of small amounts of food; seen in some infants after feeding
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type of:
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disgorgement, emesis, regurgitation, vomit, vomiting
the reflex act of ejecting the contents of the stomach through the mouth
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disgorgement, emesis, regurgitation, vomit, vomiting
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Vocabulary lists containing rumination
Following a wave of antisemitic attacks, fifteen-year-old Orthodox Jew Hoodie Rosen faces the ire of his family and community when he falls in love with a non-Jewish girl.
Biographer Frank Brady chronicles the meteoric rise and astounding fall of chess prodigy Bobby Fischer.
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