pensive

pen·sive | \ ˈpen(t)-siv

Definition of pensive

1 : musingly or dreamily thoughtful a pensive young poet

2 : suggestive of sad thoughtfulness her face had the pensive mournfulness of a seraph in an old sad painting— Herman Wouk

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Examples of pensive in a Sentence

… the combination of national crisis and imminent electoral victory creates an atmosphere at once pensive and elated. — Yossi Klein Halevi, New Republic, 25 Dec. 2000 We take in the synchronized swimming of sardines and the pensive patrol of a leopard shark. — Roger Rosenblatt, Time, 5 Oct. 1998 … did not seem depressed so much as pensive, and within a few minutes he was talking eagerly—in fact, unstoppably—about his favorite subject: school. — James Traub, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 1994 The child sat by himself, looking pensive. rainy days often put her in a pensive mood

Recent Examples on the Web By turns pensive and disruptive, agitated and calm, the music ceaselessly engages attention, thanks in part to the pianists’ virtuosity and sensitivity. — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "Best jazz albums of 2019: Dee Alexander, Miguel Zenon and Anat Cohen Tentet had a very good year," 27 Nov. 2019 Ad Astra is a hopeful tale, but a pensive and melancholy one, wrapped up in the splendid visuals of outer space. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "The 10 Best Films of 2019," 5 Dec. 2019 In 1965, Snowdon composed this image of the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures—the title for the Royal Collection's head curator—peering through a microfilm, pensive and inscrutable, with one eye obscured in shadow. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Lord Snowdon’s Work Was About So Much More Than the Royal Family," 15 Dec. 2019 In the black and white photo, Charles and Harry beam down at an awake and very pensive Archie. — Katherine J Igoe, Marie Claire, "Meghan and Harry's Birthday Wish to Charles Include a Never-Before-Seen Photo of Archie," 14 Nov. 2019 Buttigieg said ending with a pensive close-up on the mayor’s face. — NBC News, "Buttigieg releases new Iowa ad focusing on the 'fight' against Trump — and beyond," 6 Nov. 2019 Masur and the orchestra captured the muscularity of the piece, as well as its more pensive moments, no small feat in a new work as complex as this. — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "Review: Ken-David Masur starts a promising new chapter with Civic Orchestra," 22 Oct. 2019 The pensive ape on top of this post, for instance, can be instantly downloaded for under $10 with a subscription plan with Getty. — Anne Quito, Quartzy, "Why editorial illustrations look so similar these days," 26 Oct. 2019 The former made for a neat closure; the latter provides a more open, pensive end. — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, "El Camino Lives Up to the Legacy of Breaking Bad," 11 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pensive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.