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muse.

Verb
Literary
MEANING

1. To think reflectively, often in a quiet or absorbed way.

2. A person or thing regarded as a source of creative inspiration.

3. One of the Muses associated in Greek mythology with the arts and learning.

Use it for

Words that belong together

  • muse on a memory
  • muse aloud

On the page

She mused on the unfinished note while the rain returned.
He mused aloud until the others began answering him.

Nearby words

Related words

Word forms
Base
muse
Past tense
mused
Past participle
mused
Present participle
musing
Full tense & aspect guide
Present
muse
Present continuous
am/is/are musing
Present perfect
have/has mused
Present perfect continuous
have/has been musing
Past
mused
Past continuous
was/were musing
Past perfect
had mused
Past perfect continuous
had been musing
Future
will muse
Future continuous
will be musing
Future perfect
will have mused
Future perfect continuous
will have been musing

Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.

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Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: muse; muses; mused; mused; musing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: muses.

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