meditate
meditate — 動詞
1. to sit or rest in a quiet place and direct your attention inward, for example by
冥想
靜心專注以達平靜或靈性目的
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.
每天早上上班前，Maeve 都會在安靜的書房裡冥想十五分鐘。
meditate + for + time period
The Buddhist nun showed the visitors how to meditate by concentrating on each breath.
那位佛教尼姑向訪客示範如何透過專注呼吸來冥想。
how to meditate + by + method
Yumi finds it hard to meditate when there is loud traffic noise outside her flat.
Yumi 覺得外面交通噪音很大的時候很難冥想。
After meditating regularly for a few weeks, Constanza felt noticeably calmer during the day.
Constanza 規律冥想幾週後，發現白天明顯平靜了許多。
Vivek closes his eyes and meditates whenever he feels overwhelmed at work.
Vivek 在工作上感到不堪負荷時，就會閉上眼睛冥想。
- 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
深思；沉思
長時間認真地思考某一問題
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.
會議結束後，Ilan 花了好幾個小時深思團隊的提案才回覆。
meditate on + [topic]
Ari sat on the balcony, meditating on the meaning of his grandmother's final words to him.
Ari 坐在陽臺上，沉思著祖母對他說的最後那番話的含意。
The committee meditated on the decision for three days before announcing their choice.
委員會在宣布結果之前，就該決定深思了整整三天。
Liang spent the weekend meditating on whether to accept the promotion in another city.
Liang 花了整個週末深思是否要接受去另一個城市的升職機會。
- 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
策劃；圖謀
在心中盤算擬定某項行動計畫
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.
那位流亡領袖正在策劃重返家園之際，特赦的消息傳來了。
meditate + [plan/action as object]
For years, Élise had meditated a grand voyage across the Pacific on a sailing boat.
Élise 多年來一直策劃著一趟乘帆船橫渡太平洋的壯遊。
Folake meditated a complete change of career after the long summer break.
經過漫長的暑假後，Folake 在心中盤算要徹底轉行。
The general meditated a surprise march through the mountain pass under cover of darkness.
將軍策劃趁夜色掩護，率軍出其不意地穿越山隘。
- 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.