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Glite Dictionary
to woolgather

to woolgather

1 9.9
To think about pleasant things instead of paying attention
  • verb
  • /ˈwuːlˌɡæðər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : soñar despierto
  • don't be woolgathering

Examples

  • "I was woolgathering.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Although I am woolgathering, woolly clouds can be sharp-edged with the sun setting behind them.

    Academic text (2015)

  • As he sat there woolgathering, he dreamed that he was approaching Africa on the other side.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • He realized he was woolgathering.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • You've been woolgathering ever since we crawled out of the river.

    Gunga Din (1939)

  • "Honestly, Harry, I worry about these lapses of acumen that you display now and then." "I was woolgathering," he admitted.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Driving down a familiar road, I'll be woolgathering—thinking of the past, probably—and realize I've missed my turn.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Both coldly show you that you are woolgathering too large or perhaps ever-so-gently, practically gratingly, supply you with the "isn't it good that you just imagine you can use that" little?

    Blog text (26)

  • As she stared out the window, she found herself woolgathering about her childhood adventures.

  • While I was woolgathering, I suddenly remembered an important meeting I had forgotten.

Synonyms

to dream
vsto woolgather
932 2.7

To think about pleasant things while you are awake

is a dated label for indulging in aimless, absent-minded fancies
to fantasize
vsto woolgather
  • US
126 4.5

To imagine things that are not real because you want them

is a dated word for aimless, absent-minded imagining
to daydream
vsto woolgather
39 2.3

To imagine pleasant things while you are awake and not paying attention

is a dated word for aimless, absent-minded thoughts
to stargaze
vsto woolgather
  • Informal
1 6.4

To think about pleasant, unlikely things instead of paying attention

is an older word for general aimless, absent-minded thinking

Antonyms

focus
794 3.5

Close attention to one subject or activity

to engage
676 3.4

To take part in an activity

How Distracted

to space out
  • Informal
4 7.7
to woolgather
  • Archaic
1 9.9
to daydream
39 2.3

Surface Forms

woolgather infinitive
woolgathered past
woolgathered past participle
woolgathering present participle
woolgathers third person singular

Morphology

woolgather = wool + gather (opaque) = wool + gather

Although built from the words 'wool' + 'gather', the attested meaning 'to daydream' is an idiomatic/metaphorical extension not predictable from the components.

Etymology

The word woolgather originally described people who walked into fields picking up loose wool to gather from hedges. Because this quiet, wandering work made people stop and drift away, woolgather came to mean 'to daydream' or be 'absent-minded', and it is now an old-fashioned word.