Synonyms of pondering

Verb

1. chew over, think over, meditate, ponder, excogitate, contemplate, muse, reflect, mull, mull over, ruminate, speculate, think, cogitate, cerebrate

usage: reflect deeply on a subject; "I mulled over the events of the afternoon"; "philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years"; "The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate"

Adjective

1. brooding, broody, contemplative, meditative, musing, pensive, pondering, reflective, ruminative, thoughtful (vs. thoughtless)

usage: deeply or seriously thoughtful; "Byron lives on not only in his poetry, but also in his creation of the 'Byronic hero' - the persona of a brooding melancholy young man";