ponder Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb reflect deeply on a subject
    ruminate; mull; muse; think over; reflect; contemplate; meditate; chew over; mull over; excogitate; speculate.
    • I mulled over the events of the afternoon
    • philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years
    • The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate

WordNet


Pon"der transitive verb
Etymology
L. ponderare, fr. pondus, ponderis, a weight, fr. pendere to weigh: cf. F. pondérer. See Pendant, and cf. Pound a weight.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Pondered ; present participle & verbal noun Pondering
Definitions
  1. To weigh. Obs.
  2. To weigh in the mind; to view with deliberation; to examine carefully; to consider attentively.
    Ponder the path of thy feet. Prov. iv. 26.
    Syn. -- To Ponder, Consider, Muse. To consider means to view or contemplate with fixed thought. To ponder is to dwell upon with long and anxious attention, with a view to some practical result or decision. To muse is simply to think upon continuously with no definite object, or for the pleasure it gives. We consider any subject which is fairly brought before us; we ponder a concern involving great interests; we muse on the events of childhood.
Pon"der intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To think; to deliberate; to muse; -- usually followed by on or over. Longfellow.

Webster 1913