Meaning & use
muse
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Meanings
verbintransitiveliterary
To spend time thinking quietly and reflectively about an idea, memory, or possibility.
Grammar: No object; commonly followed by on, about, or over: muse on the past.
Patterns
- muse on something
- muse about something
- muse over something
She sat by the window, musing on the choices ahead.
He mused aloud about moving closer to the sea.
While gardening, I often muse over old conversations.
nouncountable
A person, place, memory, or imagined force that inspires creative work.
Grammar: Takes a plural: artists and their muses. Often possessive: his muse.
Patterns
- someone's muse
- a muse for an artist
- lose one's muse
The poet called the harbor town his muse.
Many writers say routine is a better muse than waiting for genius.
Her grandmother became the muse for several short stories.
proper nounpluralliteraryreligion
The Muses: goddesses in Greek and Roman belief who inspired poetry, music, learning, and the arts.
Grammar: Usually capitalized as the Muses and used with the; historical or mythological, not an everyday person.
Patterns
- invoke the Muses
- the nine Muses
- a Muse of poetry
Ancient poets invoked the Muses before beginning an epic.
Calliope was the Muse of epic poetry in Greek tradition.
Word forms
| third person singular | muses |
|---|---|
| past tense | mused |
| past participle | mused |
| -ing form | musing |
| plural of noun | muses |
Common combinations
- muse on the past
- He likes to muse on the past while walking through the old neighborhood.
- muse aloud
- She mused aloud about whether the plan was too risky.
- artistic muse
- The city became an artistic muse for the young photographer.
- invoke the Muse
- The student jokingly invoked the Muse before her exam essay.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ponder
- Think carefully and slowly; muse sounds more reflective and less problem-solving.
- reflect
- Think seriously about experience or meaning; often more structured than muse.
- contemplate
- Consider something quietly, often before a decision.
- daydream
- Let the mind drift pleasantly; muse usually has a clearer object of thought.
Word family
- musing noun
- a period of quiet reflection; often plural.
- musingly adverb
- in a thoughtful, reflective way.
Commonly confused: muse or amuse?
muse vs amuse
Amuse means to entertain or make someone laugh; muse means to reflect thoughtfully or inspire.
Practice
Choose the best preposition: “He sat on the train, musing ___ the letter he had received.”
Choose one answer.
Muse on something is a standard reflective pattern. Into, despite, and across do not collocate with muse in this structure.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “muse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.