Meanings
plural ruminations
- countableuncountableThe act of ruminating; i.e. chewing cud.
- countablefigurativelyuncountableDeep thought or consideration.
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
2025 July 3, Fred Garratt-Stanley, “Kae Tempest – ‘Self Titled’ review: an inspiring reflection on identity and self-discovery”, in NMESynonyms: cogitation, contemplation, deliberation, mulling, musing, pondering, meditation, reflection
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesNegative cyclic thinking; persistent and recurrent worrying or brooding.
- countableuncountablemedicineAn eating disorder characterized by repetitive regurgitation of small amounts of food from the stomach.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounDeep thought or consideration.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna calm, lengthy, intent consideration
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinrūminātio“chewing the cud”
- Englishrumination
From Latin rūminātio (“chewing the cud”); see ruminate.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic اجترار
- اجترار (ijtirār)act of ruminating
Bulgarian преживяне, размисъл
- преживяне (preživjane)act of ruminating
- размисъл (razmisăl)deep thought
Catalan remugament, ruminació
- remugamentact of ruminating
- ruminacióact of ruminating
- ruminaciódeep thought
Chinese Mandarin 沈思, 沉思
- 沈思 (chénsī)deep thought
- 沉思 (chénsī)deep thought
- 反芻 /反刍 (fǎnchú)eating disorder
Dutch peinzen, piekeren
- peinzenact of ruminating
- piekerenact of ruminating
Finnish märehtiminen, märehdintä
- märehtiminenact of ruminating
- märehdintäact of ruminating
- pohdiskeludeep thought
- mietiskelydeep thought
- märehtiminendeep thought
- ruminaationegative cyclic thinking
- ruminaatioeating disorder
French rumination, rumination
- ruminationact of ruminating
- ruminationnegative cyclic thinking
German Wiederkäuen, Wiederkäuung
- Wiederkäuenact of ruminating
- Wiederkäuungact of ruminating
- Gedankenversunkenheitdeep thought
Greek μηρυκασμός
- μηρυκασμός (mirykasmós)act of ruminating
Indonesian ruminasi, ruminasi
- ruminasiact of ruminating
- ruminasinegative cyclic thinking
Irish athchogaint
- athchogaintact of ruminating
Persian نشخوار
- نشخوار (nešxâr)act of ruminating
Polish przeżuwanie, rozmyślanie
- przeżuwanieact of ruminating
- rozmyślaniedeep thought
- ruminacjanegative cyclic thinking
- ruminacjaeating disorder
Romanian rumega
- rumegaact of ruminating
Russian жева́ние жва́чки, размышле́ние
- жева́ние жва́чки (ževánije žváčki)act of ruminating
- размышле́ние (razmyšlénije)deep thought
Scottish Gaelic ath-chagnadh
- ath-chagnadhact of ruminating
Swedish grubbla, ältande
- grubbladeep thought
- ältandenegative cyclic thinking
- ältningnegative cyclic thinking
Ukrainian жування жуйки
- жування жуйки (žuvannja žujky)act of ruminating
Cite this entry
rumination. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rumination
“rumination.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rumination. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rumination,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rumination.
Source: rumination on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.