ponder
[verb]
Synonyms: think, brood, cogitate, consider, contemplate, deliberate, meditate, mull over, muse, reflect, ruminate

---

Related Words: appraise, evaluate, cogitate, reason, reflect, speculate, think, brood, debate, dwell

---

English Thesaurus: think, consider, weigh, give something some/a lot of thought, mull something over, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

pon‧der /ˈpɒndə $ ˈpɑːndər/ verb [intransitive and transitive]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: ponderer 'to weigh', from Latin ponderare, from pondus 'weight']
formal to spend time thinking carefully and seriously about a problem, a difficult question, or something that has happened Synonym : consider:
He continued to ponder the problem as he walked home.
ponder on/over/about
The university board is still pondering over the matter.
ponder how/what/whether
Jay stood still for a moment, pondering whether to go or not.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

ponder
verb
ADV. carefully, deeply, hard | (for) a moment She pondered for a moment before replying.
VERB + PONDER leave sb to He walked out of the room, leaving me to ponder what he had just said.
be forced to
PREP. about This was something I had been pondering about for some time.
on I walked up the stairs, pondering on her reaction to my news.
over I pondered hard over the reply to his letter.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

think to use your mind to decide about something, form an opinion, imagine something etc:
I’ve been thinking about what you said – maybe you’re right.
I need some time to think.
consider to think about something carefully before deciding what to do:
Have you considered working for a year before going to college?
weigh (also weigh up British English) to carefully think about a plan or choice by comparing all the advantages and disadvantages involved:
You need to weigh up the pros and cons (=the advantages and disadvantages), and decide which investment is the best one for you.
The committee are still weighing the alternatives.
give something some/a lot of thought to think carefully about something, before you make a final decision about it:
Why don’t you give it some thought and then get back to me?
He had obviously given the matter a lot of thought.
mull something over to think about a problem, plan etc before making a decision:
Can you give me a bit of time to mull it over?
ponder to spend time thinking carefully and seriously about something, especially a problem or something complicated:
She is still pondering what to do.
Officials are pondering ways to remove the oil from the beaches.
contemplate to think about something you might do in the future:
Did you ever contemplate resigning?
reflect formal to think carefully about something, especially something that happened in the past:
It was a good time to reflect upon the changes that had happened in my life.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

think:
I think you’re right.
She didn’t think that the film was very good.
believe to have an opinion that you are sure is right, especially about an important subject such as politics or religion:
The protestors believe that it is wrong to experiment on animals.
Do you really believe that the only solution to violence is more violence?
feel to have a particular opinion, especially one that is based on your feelings, not on facts:
She feels that there is no alternative.
I just felt that it was the right thing to do.
take the view that formal to have a particular opinion:
The court took the view that the company had acted unreasonably.
The college takes the view that smoking in the workplace is a fire risk.
consider to think about something carefully before deciding what to do:
Have you considered working for a year before going to college?
weigh (also weigh up British English) to carefully think about a plan or choice by comparing all the advantages and disadvantages involved:
You need to weigh up the pros and cons (=the advantages and disadvantages), and decide which investment is the best one for you.
The committee are still weighing the alternatives.
give something some/a lot of thought to think carefully about something, before you make a final decision about it:
Why don’t you give it some thought and then get back to me?
He had obviously given the matter a lot of thought.
mull something over to think about a problem, plan etc before making a decision:
Can you give me a bit of time to mull it over?
ponder to spend time thinking carefully and seriously about something, especially a problem or something complicated:
She is still pondering what to do.
Officials are pondering ways to remove the oil from the beaches.
contemplate to think about something you might do in the future:
Did you ever contemplate resigning?
reflect formal to think carefully about something, especially something that happened in the past:
It was a good time to reflect upon the changes that had happened in my life.
brood to keep thinking for a long time about something that worries you or that makes you angry or upset:
There’s no point brooding over things you can’t change.
dwell on something to spend too much time thinking about something sad or unpleasant:
I try to enjoy my life today and not dwell on the past.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲