philosophize

American  

[fi-los-uh-fahyz] / fɪˈlɒs əˌfaɪz /

especially British, philosophise

verb (used without object)

philosophized, philosophizing

1. to speculate or theorize, usually in a superficial or imprecise manner.

2. to think or reason as a philosopher.

---

philosophize British  

/ fɪˈlɒsəˌfaɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to make philosophical pronouncements and speculations

2. (tr) to explain philosophically

---

Other Word Forms

• overphilosophize verb (used without object)
• philosophization noun
• philosophizer noun
• well-philosophized adjective

Etymology

Origin of philosophize

First recorded in 1585–95; philosoph(y) + -ize

Example Sentences

These bit players work, whisper, chatter, laugh, philosophize, run, hide, weep, lament and survive, sometimes as an undifferentiated human blur and sometimes with great individual vividness.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2023

After Hal and Josie’s meet-cute, they see sights blandly, philosophize blandly, blandly tiptoe around the notion of romance, and criticize each other — yes, blandly, but with an occasional touch of “salty” language.

From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2022

His writing, she added, made people “free to philosophize in a way that, to paraphrase Mills’ first intellectual hero Marx, seeks not merely to describe the world, but to transform it.”

From Washington Post • Oct. 1, 2021

Socrates loved to stroll and philosophize, and Aristotle taught his classes while he walked up and down the walkways of the Lyceum.

From Salon • Aug. 28, 2021

I studied philosophy in college and didn’t realize until my senior year that no one would pay me to philosophize when I graduated.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson