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

The rumination has centered around the systems and the institutions that perpetuated this treatment but, at least as I’ve found—and I’d venture many have as well—it’s also very personal.

From The Daily Beast

The implausible realignment of two stars after more than a decade and a half might supercharge such ruminations.

From Time

In addition to garden-variety deep thoughts, his movies are also laced with ruminations on where Germany has been, and where it’s headed.

From Time

Other studies have shown that rumination perpetuates distress and aggression caused in response to insults and threats to one’s self-esteem.

From Nautilus

Oftentimes, this realization itself introduces enough mental distance from the cycle of rumination to break it, and allow you to move on.

From Nautilus

How else to explain the popularity of a novel so free of plot, so obsessed with existential rumination and recondite philosophy?

From The Daily Beast

What is it about all the rumination, all the anxiety that makes it so hard to sort of stand up for yourself, to yourself?

From The Daily Beast

The images feel like a yearbook of sorts, a rumination on the decade, and on three girls growing up.

From The Daily Beast

In her hands, celluloid comes off as a medium that allows for old-fashioned rumination, with some of the slowness of oil paint.

From The Daily Beast

Published in 2006, the novel is violent and spooky, a rumination on madness and creativity.

From The Daily Beast

Lady Hartledon had dismissed her maid, and stood leaning against the arm of the sofa, indulging in bitter rumination.

From Project Gutenberg

At this a light came into his face, and after some seconds of rumination he despatched Nance upon an errand.

From Project Gutenberg

He sat looking surly and gloomy, buried in rumination, and by-and-by rose and left the room.

From Project Gutenberg

He kept sighing and wrinkling his brows, as though in deep rumination on a matter far removed from the stumpage question.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he wrenched off a huge chew of tobacco whose rumination might check his impulse toward tempestuous language.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• meditation
• reflection

More About Rumination

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.

Where does rumination come from?

The first records of rumination come from the 1500s. It derives from the Latin verb rūmināre, meaning “to chew the cud.” Rūmināre comes from the Latin rūmen, which gives us the English rumen—the first of four compartments in the stomach of ruminant animals. Such animals, like cows, eat grass, swallow it, and then regurgitate it and chew it some more. When the food is regurgitated to be chewed again, it’s called cud.

This process of chewing and rechewing is called rumination. You can see how it can be used figuratively: when you ruminate on something, you think it over. In fact, the idioms chew it over and chew the cud both refer to contemplating something for a while. Sometimes you might not be able to stop ruminating. Psychologists use the word rumination to refer to obsessively repeating a particular thought or continuing to think about something, especially a problem, over and over instead of finding a solution or moving on.

Rumination can also refer to a creative work that’s intended as a deep consideration of a particular topic or idea, as in The film was a melancholy rumination on the briefness of life. Its synonyms contemplation and meditation can also be used in this way.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to rumination?

• ruminate (verb)
• ruminations (plural)

What are some synonyms for rumination?

• contemplation
• meditation
• reflection

What are some words that share a root or word element with rumination? 

 

• ruminant
• rumen

What are some words that often get used in discussing rumination?

 

• ponder
• think
• consider
• contemplate
• meditate
• chew
• cow
• cud

How is rumination used in real life?

Rumination is generally used in a neutral or positive way to refer to the process of thinking something over. When it’s used in the context of psychology, it refers to behavior that has negative effects on a person.

After much rumination, I have concluded that neither dogs nor cats are intrinsically better than the other. Ones feelings about this subject are subjective, experiential, and contextual. I hope this clears things up.

— Tsar Czar Binks, protector of the buried beans (@SleepyHead_band) April 9, 2018

The danger of dwelling – too much rumination can lead to depression and anxiety new study finds: http://t.co/BaPPauAvnh via @BBCNews

— Mental Health Fdn (@mentalhealth) October 17, 2013

This is such a remarkable story. It is both one of the most gripping wilderness tales I've ever read, and a beautiful rumination on the nature of chaos https://t.co/fWgdJsrZV1

— Mat Honan (@mat) March 22, 2019

 

 

Try using rumination!

Is rumination used correctly in the following sentence? 

My insomnia is mainly caused by late-night rumination on my mistakes.