rumination

[roo-muh-ney-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of pondering or musing on something.

   Understanding little of what was happening, I was semiconsciously storing away experiences, impressions, and ideas for later rumination.

2. something written or spoken that expresses such pondering or musing.

   Her blog posts contain notes of spirituality, ruminations on the meaning of experience, and glimpses of her multifaceted life.

3. Psychology.,  excessive, repetitive thinking focused on the same, usually negative, idea or theme: characteristic of some obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders.

4. the act or process of chewing the cud, as cows, deer, and some other animals do.

   Rumination helps cows efficiently turn grass, corn, and other feed into nutrient-dense milk.

Other Word Forms

• nonrumination noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rumination¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin stem of rūminātiō “a chewing of the cud,” equivalent to rūmināt(us) “chewed over again” (stem of rūmināre; ruminate ( def. ) ) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

So nature is boosting them up, and we think that is giving them the cognitive resources to then deal with their depression and their rumination.

From Los Angeles Times

Out of that rumination came the idea to start a magazine about gourmet bathing, which I called Wet!

From Los Angeles Times

But Perkins hops so quickly from one outrageous death to another that his screenplay leaves little room for rumination amid his constant fatalist sermonizing.

From Salon

Outside the region, major European allies who awoke to news of Trump’s ruminations on Gaza expressed dismay.

From Los Angeles Times

And nights waking drenched in sweat, waking to obsessive rumination, bad dreams leaking into the dawn.

From BBC

Related Words

• meditation 
• reflection 

When To Use

What does rumination mean?

Rumination is the process of carefully thinking something over, pondering it, or meditating on it.In psychology, the term refers to obsessive repetition of thoughts or excessively thinking about problems. Rumination can also refer to the process of chewing over and over again, as is done by ruminant animals, like cows.Rumination is the noun form of the verb ruminate, which can mean to think over or ponder, or to chew over and over.Example: After much rumination and soul-searching, I have decided to pursue a new career.