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Glite Dictionary
🚶 To walk aimlessly 💭 To lose focus
to wander

to wander

59 3.3
Lose focus or go off the main subject
  • verb
  • /ˈwɑndər/
: divagar
  • You are noticing when your mind begins to wander and you're returning back to the breath.
  • mind wanders
  • attention wanders
  • discussion wanders

I am sort of in my own thoughts, wandering, dreaming, scheming.

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Examples

  • Learn to concentrate on something, not let your brain wander all over the place.

  • And when it wanders, just bring it back.

  • If your mind starts to wander, Please note where that is.

  • Now I think my mind was wandering in class.

    GaryVee

  • She said the mind may wander, for that is what the mind does.

  • You know, my attention wandered.

    For Love or Money (1993)

  • Well, interestingly, the way to stop mind wandering is actually to clear your mind.

    The Royal Institution

  • My body may be shackled, but my mind wanders free.

    Tropic Thunder (2008)

  • Certainly, the temptation for political scientists to wander off course seems greater than for economists or psychologists.

    Academic text (1995)

  • When I try to focus on studying, I often notice my mind wander to other things.

Synonyms

to drift
vsto wander
265 2.9

To move slowly without a clear direction, for example when air or water move something

describes loss of attention or going off the main subject, not physical motion
to digress
vsto wander
21 6.8

To start talking about something else for a short time

can describe longer or ongoing loss of focus rather than brief departures
to stray
vsto wander
19 4.0

To move away from the main topic when speaking or writing

is about losing attention or unclear direction rather than only changing topic
to ramble on
vsto wander
  • Informal
17 6.2

Talk for a long time in an unclear way about small unimportant things

refers to losing focus briefly rather than long aimless talking
to divagate
vsto wander
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To wander away from the main subject when speaking or writing

emphasizes loss of focus or clarity rather than only leaving the main subject

Antonyms

to keep the conversation going
4 3.4

Make people continue talking so the talk does not stop

Phrasal Verbs

to wander the streets
21 2.9

To walk around a town or city without a clear purpose

How Distracted

to space out
  • Informal
12 7.7
to drift
265 2.9
to wander
59 3.3
to digress
21 6.8
to stray
19 4.0

Surface Forms

wander infinitive
wandered past
wandered past participle
wandering present participle
wanders third person singular

Etymology

Wander This meaning comes from the same image of 'turning' as in wind, but for the mind: your thoughts 'turn away' from the main topic. So when your mind or speech wanders, it leaves the main path and loses focus.