adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Causing rumination or prone to it; thoughtful.

   "They waited expectantly while he directed a ruminative yawn toward the white smiling moon."

2. 2
   Relating to or characteristic of ruminants; chewing the cud.

Adjective

1. 1
   deeply or seriously thoughtful wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

meditativebroodingbroodycognitiveconceptualcontemplative

Antonyms

All antonyms

carelessimpulsiveunthinking

Example

More examples

"They waited expectantly while he directed a ruminative yawn toward the white smiling moon."

Etymology

From ruminate + -ive.

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