rumination

English

Etymology

From Latin rūminātio (“chewing the cud”); see ruminate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɹuːmɪˈneɪʃən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

rumination (countable and uncountable, plural ruminations)

1. The act of ruminating; i.e. chewing cud.
2. (figuratively) Deep thought or consideration.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:consideration

   • 2025 July 3, Fred Garratt-Stanley, “Kae Tempest – ‘Self Titled’ review: an inspiring reflection on identity and self-discovery”, in NME:

     Amid these internal battles is a clear vision of the chaotic world outside, too; ‘Bless The Bold Future’ is a nuanced rumination on the dangers of bringing new life onto a planet in turmoil

3. (psychology) Negative cyclic thinking; persistent and recurrent worrying or brooding.
4. (pathology) An eating disorder characterized by repetitive regurgitation of small amounts of food from the stomach.

Derived terms

• rumination syndrome

Related terms

• rumen
• ruminant
• ruminate
• ruminator

Translations

act of ruminating

Arabic: اجترار m (ijtirār) Bulgarian: преживяне (bg) n (preživjane) Catalan: remugament m, ruminació f Finnish: märehtiminen (fi), märehdintä French: rumination (fr) f German: Wiederkäuen n, Wiederkäuung f Greek: μηρυκασμός (el) m (mirykasmós) Indonesian: ruminasi Irish: athchogaint f Maltese: ruminazzjoni Persian: نشخوار (fa) (nešxâr) Polish: przeżuwanie (pl) n Romanian: rumega (ro) Russian: жева́ние жва́чки n (ževánije žváčki) Scottish Gaelic: ath-chagnadh m Ukrainian: жування жуйки n (žuvannja žujky)

deep thought

Bulgarian: размисъл (bg) m (razmisǎl) Catalan: ruminació f Chinese: Mandarin: 沈思 (zh) (chénsī), 沉思 (zh) (chénsī) Finnish: pohdiskelu (fi), mietiskely (fi), märehtiminen (fi) German: Gedankenversunkenheit f Maltese: ruminazzjoni Polish: rozmyślanie (pl) n Russian: размышле́ние (ru) n (razmyšlénije) Swedish: grubbla (sv)

negative cyclic thinking

Finnish: ruminaatio Indonesian: ruminasi Polish: ruminacja (pl) f Swedish: ältande (sv), ältning

eating disorder

Chinese: Mandarin: 反芻 / 反刍 (zh) (fǎnchú) Finnish: ruminaatio Maltese: ruminazzjoni Polish: ruminacja (pl) f

Further reading

• “rumination”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “rumination”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “rumination”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

French

Etymology

From Latin rūminātiōnem (“chewing the cud”); see ruminer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁy.mi.na.sjɔ̃/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

rumination f (plural ruminations)

1. rumination (act of ruminating)

Further reading

• “rumination”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.