meditate
meditate — verb
1. to sit or rest in a quiet place and direct your attention inward, for example by
to sit or rest in a quiet place and direct your attention inward, for example by focusing on your breathing or repeating a word silently, in order to feel calm or as part of a spiritual or religious tradition
Every morning before work, Maeve meditates for fifteen minutes in her quiet study.
meditate + for + time period
The Buddhist nun showed the visitors how to meditate by concentrating on each breath.
how to meditate + by + method
Yumi finds it hard to meditate when there is loud traffic noise outside her flat.
After meditating regularly for a few weeks, Constanza felt noticeably calmer during the day.
Vivek closes his eyes and meditates whenever he feels overwhelmed at work.
- contemplate
more general; can mean looking at something from all angles without the structured breathing or posture of meditating
- reflect
focuses on turning over past events or ideas, not necessarily with a relaxation goal
- ignore
to deliberately pay no attention rather than focus inward
文法句型
meditate + for + duration
meditate + by + method
常見錯誤
2. to give your full, serious attention to a particular subject or question over a
to give your full, serious attention to a particular subject or question over a period of time, carefully examining it from different sides
After the meeting, Ilan meditated on the team's proposal for several hours before replying.
meditate on + [topic]
Ari sat on the balcony, meditating on the meaning of his grandmother's final words to him.
The committee meditated on the decision for three days before announcing their choice.
Liang spent the weekend meditating on whether to accept the promotion in another city.
- ponder
suggests weighing something slowly and with care, often with a sense of uncertainty
- reflect
often implies looking back at past events; can be less sustained than meditate
- contemplate
suggests viewing something from many angles, sometimes with a sense of wonder or admiration
文法句型
meditate + on/upon + noun phrase
用法筆記
Frequently used with the preposition 'on' or the more formal 'upon' to introduce the subject of thought. Unlike worry or brood, meditating suggests a deliberate, calm, and constructive process.
常見錯誤
3. to arrive at a firm decision about a future action and keep that decision presen
to arrive at a firm decision about a future action and keep that decision present in your thinking as a settled intention
The exiled leader was meditating a return to his homeland when news of the amnesty arrived.
meditate + [plan/action as object]
For years, Élise had meditated a grand voyage across the Pacific on a sailing boat.
Folake meditated a complete change of career after the long summer break.
The general meditated a surprise march through the mountain pass under cover of darkness.
- intend
more common and neutral; lacks the prolonged, deliberate quality of meditate
- contemplate
can overlap with sense 3, but contemplatesuggests considering options without necessarily settling on one
- abandon
to give up a plan or intention
文法句型
meditate + noun phrase referring to an action or plan
用法筆記
This sense is formal and more common in literary or historical writing than in everyday speech. It takes a direct object that describes an action or plan, not a person or object. Distinguish from sense 2 (DEEP THOUGHT): sense 2 means examining an idea; sense 3 means settling on a course of action.