Philosophizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of pondering deep existential inquiries about life, truth, and reality requires intellectual reflection on moral and philosophical matters
2. The activity of thinking deeply about fundamental questions concerning existence, knowledge, and ethics
3. The process of reflecting on abstract ideas regarding life, truth, and human nature

Etymology: Philosophizing is a verb form built from the Greek roots "phílos" (loving, friend) and "sophós" (wise), which joined into "philosophía," literally "love of wisdom." The Greek verb "philosophízein" ("to pursue philosophy") gave the English verb a shape that stayed close to its source. Its immediate ancestor is "philosophy," which reached English in the Middle Ages through Old French "philosophie" from Latin "philosophia." The verb itself is much later and more ordinary in construction. It is formed in English from "philosophy" plus the suffix "-ize," which came through Late Latin "-izare" and Old French "-iser," originally used to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to act in the manner of" or "to make into." Because of this, the verb sounds like a grand classical coinage while being a fairly simple English extension of a noun.

Synonyms: theorizing, contemplating, speculating, pondering, reflecting

Antonyms: ignoring, overlooking, disregarding, neglecting, discounting