{
    "term": "ponder",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "ponder",
            "heSheIt": "ponders"
        },
        "pastSimple": "pondered",
        "pastParticiple": "pondered",
        "ingForm": "pondering"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to think about something carefully for a period of time",
            "sensetop": "ponder over somethingponder on somethingponder somethingponder whether, what, etc…+ speech",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She pondered over his words.",
                    "contextForm": "ponder over something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They were left to ponder on the implications of the announcement.",
                    "contextForm": "ponder on something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The senator pondered the question for a moment.",
                    "contextForm": "ponder something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We intend to ponder all the alternatives before acting."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They are pondering whether the money could be better used elsewhere.",
                    "contextForm": "ponder whether, what, etc…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘I wonder why,’ she pondered aloud.",
                    "contextForm": "+ speech"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She pondered for a moment before replying."
                },
                {
                    "text": "This was something I had been pondering about for some time."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I walked up the stairs, pondering on her reaction to my news."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I pondered hard over the reply to his letter."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Spencer stopped to ponder the thought."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "consider",
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["carefully", "deeply", "hard"],
                "verb + ponder": ["leave somebody to", "be forced to", "pause to"],
                "preposition": ["about", "on", "over"]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpɒndə(r)/",
                "audio": "po/ponder/ponder__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpɒndəz/",
                "audio": "po/ponder/ponders__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpɒndəd/",
                "audio": "po/ponder/pondered__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpɒndərɪŋ/",
                "audio": "po/ponder/pondering__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpɑːndər/",
                "audio": "po/ponder/ponder__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpɑːndərz/",
                "audio": "po/ponder/ponders__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpɑːndərd/",
                "audio": "po/ponder/pondered__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpɑːndərɪŋ/",
                "audio": "po/ponder/pondering__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English (in the sense ‘appraise, judge the worth of’): from Old French ponderer ‘consider’, from Latin ponderare ‘weigh, reflect on’, from pondus, ponder- ‘weight’."
}