meditate vs ponder

meditate and ponder both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
meditate	No	No	Yes	No
ponder	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, meditate and ponder are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of meditate include chew over, contemplate, excogitate, mull, mull over, muse, reflect, ruminate, speculate, think over.

meditate (verb)	ponder (verb)
reflect deeply on a subject	reflect deeply on a subject
think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes