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ergrübeln

to work out by brooding, to puzzle out

verb er-GRUE-beln Rare
Mind & Emotions Mental States

Usage Note

ergrübeln means to reach an answer or insight by sustained, intense thinking — often with connotations of difficulty and persistence. It is less common than herausdenken but appears in literary and journalistic German.

Examples

"Die Antwort ließ sich nicht ergrübeln; sie kam spontan."

Natural Translation

The answer could not be puzzled out; it came spontaneously.

Literal Translation

The answer let itself not brood-out; it came spontaneously.

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