ponders

verb

present tense third-person singular of ponder
as in contemplates
to give serious and careful thought to I'm pondering whether or not I should join another committee

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ponders While Tavares coach Gavin Jones ponders how to replace 18 transfer players heading into the season, just down Route 441, new Eustis coach Tanner Harris is pumping some energy into a program that has had four coaches in three years. — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026 Vieira ponders the dilemma from his own perspective as a coach, having had spells in charge at New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa. — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 June 2026 As coach John Hynes ponders his Game 1 starter, the recent numbers will show that Wallstedt has allowed a total of four goals in his final two regular-season starts, while veteran Filip Gustavsson has been touched for 10 in the same span. — Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 15 Apr. 2026 While Heinrich ponders the misfiring neurons in the brain of a mass shooter, Jack’s pursuit of Mink—a character whose skin color and ambiguous ethnicity Jack remarks on repeatedly—leads him directly into the urban teeth of the War on Drugs. — Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026 Who ever ponders the conveniences of that 20th century innovation, the airplane, that makes 21st century hustle possible? — Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026 Who ever ponders the conveniences of that 20th-century innovation, the airplane, that makes 21st-century hustle possible? — CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026 That novel ponders the problem of a great artist, or someone we’re invited to believe is a great artist, tangled in the moral compromises of making art under the conditions of the Third Reich. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026 The new season of The Comeback arrives in 2026, perhaps the most perilous time Hollywood has ever faced as the town anxiously ponders how AI might shape, or decimate, the industry in the coming years. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ponders
  1. contemplates
  2. considers
  3. entertains
  4. debates
Verb
  • Unrivaled, the 3×3 women’s professional basketball league, has completed an oversubscribed Series C fundraise at a value of $650 million, as the nearly three-year-old organization contemplates further geographic expansion.
    — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The pair move in together, as McConaughey contemplates a Texas gubernatorial run.
    — Shauna Lyon, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of contemplates
Verb
  • Redfin considers a place a buyer's market when the number of sellers exceeds the number of buyers by 10% or more.
    — Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Income requirements SoFi also considers income during the application process, but doesn't disclose a specific minimum.
    — Rebecca Safier, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of considers
Verb
  • Emma Woodhouse entertains herself by meddling in the romantic affairs of her neighbors.
    — Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Steel Pier still entertains families, and the wooden walkway remains a tradition for many families.
    — Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of entertains
Verb
  • While his party debates abolishing prisons and owning grocery stores, Democratic Mayor Daniel Lurie is cleaning up his city.
    — Kate Andrews, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The show, which has been on air for 15 years, uses a roundtable format in which the panel debates politics, pop culture and other current events.
    — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of debates

Browse Nearby Words

ponderousness
ponders
ponds
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Cite this Entry

“Ponders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ponders. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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