Meditate has two meanings:
To think calm thoughts in order to relax or as a religious activity:
To think seriously about something for a long time:
Cambridge definition
I can understand the first meaning. But for the second meaning I don't know how or in what situation I can use.
For example, can I use it like this?
He meditated on the weird attitude of my girlfriend yesterday.
When you meditate, you focus on your breathing while sitting calmly. Some people meditate to reduce stress, while others see it as part of their spiritual practice.
Meditate can also be used to describe any deep thinking you do, like when you meditate on what to say to a friend who is feeling sad lately.
Case in point-
He meditated on the weird attitude of my girlfriend yesterday.
suggested verbs-
introspect
reflect on one's own thoughts and feelings
Other types- mull over, muse, ponder, reflect
Well, many times, good writers will avoid ambiguity by providing extra adverbs. Search at Google Books (not vanilla Google) and you will find this phrase well represented:
"meditated for a long time" About 10,800 results
E.g.
Journey of the Grey Fox People: A Novel - Page 10 2001 -
Limping Deer closed his eyes again and meditated for a long time, until at last Falling Snow said, “My grandfather, what happened then to the Water People?”
He was taking things too roughly, carelessly. He needed to meditate; he needed to know the true meaning of his actions.
That is a way it could be used.
