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Rumination

Psychology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Repetitive thinking that circles distress without reaching resolution.

Detailed Definition
Rumination returns obsessively to a mistake, loss, insult, or unanswered question, often giving the appearance of analysis while deepening emotional pain. Poetry can represent it through recurring refrains, a locked hallway, a clock revisiting the same hour, or an argument endlessly revised after the fact. The term distinguishes reflective understanding from mental circling: the mind keeps moving, yet remains trapped around the same unresolved center.
Example
Example in poetry:
A speaker who repeatedly revisits a lost relationship without reaching a new understanding demonstrates rumination; In T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” repeated questions and self-doubt create a ruminative mental pattern; A poem can represent rumination through circular syntax, recurring images, and questions that receive no answer; A speaker who replays one embarrassing moment across several stanzas shows how thought can become trapped in the past.
Additional Notes
Rumination is repetitive, distress-focused thought that revisits a problem without producing action or closure. Poems may represent it through circular phrasing, refrains, or recurring images. Related concepts include worry, fixation, and intrusive thought.
Also Known As
Brooding Overthinking Obsessive Thinking
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