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

Examples 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 muse

Noun

Barry's gently hallucinatory novel imagines Lennon making a visit in 1978, hoping to cleanse his spirit and revive his muse. —

The Week Us, theweek, 29 Oct. 2024 Celebrities including Lily Collins and Elizabeth Hurley, fashion icons Donatella Versace and Betsey Johnson, and the film and musical's ostensible muse, Anna Wintour, were in attendance, as well as the musical's lead, Vanessa Williams. —

Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 2 Dec. 2024

Verb

Steve muses, as the clip cuts to barbarian humanoid pigs attacking a city. —

Greg Evans, Deadline, 19 Nov. 2024 Greenfield mused in an interview.. Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. —

Lillian Rizzo,alex Sherman, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for muse

Recent Examples of Synonyms for muse

Noun

The poet, too, filled his darkness with a divine stream of words, and through these words a whole cosmos spun into view.

Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
The exhibition’s title Sailing to Byzantium comes from a 1927 poem by William Butler Yeats, where the poet uses a sea voyage to Byzantium as a metaphor for a spiritual journey.

Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024