Rumination

//ˌɹuːmɪˈneɪʃən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of ruminating; i.e. chewing cud. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    regurgitation of small amounts of food; seen in some infants after feeding wordnet
  3. 3
    Deep thought or consideration. countable, figuratively, uncountable

    "Amid these internal battles is a clear vision of the chaotic world outside, too; ‘Bless The Bold Future’ is a nuanced rumination on the dangers of bringing new life onto a planet in turmoil"

  4. 4
    (of ruminants) chewing (the cud) wordnet
  5. 5
    Negative cyclic thinking; persistent and recurrent worrying or brooding. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration wordnet
  2. 7
    An eating disorder characterized by repetitive regurgitation of small amounts of food from the stomach. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
contemplationmusingreflectionappetitechewingcogitation

Example

More examples

"Rumination is an important stage of making decisions."

Etymology

From Latin rūminātio (“chewing the cud”); see ruminate.

Related phrases

rumination syndrome

More for "rumination"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.