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 Words From

• non·ru·mi·na·tion 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

David Dunning, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, suggests anyone who’s struggling with negative mental health impacts related to the election — such as anxiety, irritability or excessive rumination — take a break from election-related media and activities.

From Los Angeles Times

Published as a working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research in April, the model indexes for three characteristics of mental illnesses – rumination, negative thinking and reinforced behaviors – and attempts to measure how those characteristics affect a person’s consumption, job choice, savings and portfolio choices.

From Salon

Black women who were more frequently exposed to racism showed stronger connections in brain networks involved with rumination and vigilance.

From Salon

Rumination – reliving and analyzing an event on a loop – and vigilance, meaning being watchful for future threats, are possible coping responses to these stressors.

From Salon

Although we saw links between racism, brain connectivity changes and accelerated aging, we did not measure coping responses like rumination and vigilance in real time, meaning as people were experiencing them.

From Salon

Related Words

• meditation
• reflection