Thesaurus results for MUSE

Q: How is the word 'muse' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of muse are meditate , ponder , and ruminate . While all these words mean "to consider or examine attentively or deliberately," muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance. // mused upon childhood joys

Q: When is it sensible to use 'meditate' instead of 'muse'?

While in some cases nearly identical to muse , meditate implies a definite focusing of one's thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply. // meditated on the meaning of life

Q: When might 'ponder' be a better fit than 'muse'?

The meanings of ponder and muse largely overlap; however, ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter. // pondered the course of action

Q: Where would 'ruminate' be a reasonable alternative to 'muse'?

While the synonyms ruminate and muse are close in meaning, ruminate implies going over the same matter in one's thoughts again and again but suggests little of either purposive thinking or rapt absorption. // ruminated on past disappointments

muse 1 of 2

noun

Definition of muse next

as in poet

a person who writes poetry where is the muse who will sing of this man's great and noble deeds?

Synonyms & Similar Words

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muse

2 of 2

verb

as in to ruminate

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How is the word muse different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of muse are meditate, ponder, and ruminate. While all these words mean "to consider or examine attentively or deliberately," muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance.

mused upon childhood joys

When is it sensible to use meditate instead of muse?

While in some cases nearly identical to muse, meditate implies a definite focusing of one's thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply.

meditated on the meaning of life

When might ponder be a better fit than muse?

The meanings of ponder and muse largely overlap; however, ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter.

pondered the course of action

Where would ruminate be a reasonable alternative to muse?

While the synonyms ruminate and muse are close in meaning, ruminate implies going over the same matter in one's thoughts again and again but suggests little of either purposive thinking or rapt absorption.

ruminated on past disappointments

Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of muse

Noun

The notion of the artist/muse relationship isn’t anything new in 2024 or ever in creative history. —

Katherine Singh, refinery29.com, 23 Dec. 2024 Women’s Wear Daily will be honoring the fashion and beauty tastemakers, muses and legends whose creativity, craft and style create magic on the red carpet at the inaugural WWD Style Awards presented Jan. 3 at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. —

Wwd Staff, WWD, 23 Dec. 2024

Verb

Hardly anyone is being tagged as a fascist collaborator for openly musing on how to work with the second Trump administration; the old psychology around complicity, from back when visiting the White House could be equated to lunching with Goebbels, has melted away. —

Ross Barkan, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025 European leaders initially sat quietly in the corner, watching Trump attempting to make cuckolds of them and musing about having his way with Greenland, before finally reacting. —

Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for muse

Recent Examples of Synonyms for muse

Noun

One such effort was led by Holocaust survivor, poet, and writer Abraham Sutzkever, who dedicated himself to preserving Yiddish language and culture.

— Natalia Romik / Madę by History, TIME, 27 Jan. 2025
The Calvinist priest and poet John Mason evidently assigned a date in 1694 as the start of the true millennium.

— Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025