pensive

adjective pen·sive \ ˈpen(t)-siv \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

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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pensively

adverb

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pensiveness

noun

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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 of pensive from the Web

An ongoing trigger’ The statuette of Our Lady of Guadalupe stood untouched in the front yard with her hands pressed together in prayer and her pensive gaze cast downward.

— martin kuz, San Antonio Express-News, "After the hurricane, the storm within," 9 Apr. 2018
His expression, staring into the phone, was tight-lipped, pensive.

— david fettling, Longreads, "Uncomfortable Silences: A Walk in Myanmar," 29 Mar. 2018
Yep, and here, something poetic, playful and pensive, a catalyst for imagination and curiosity, too.

— susan faust, San Francisco Chronicle, "Roundup of new children’s books, March 25," 22 Mar. 2018
Schmill can be seen looking especially pensive on the roof of one of the school’s buildings as he’s approached by the film’s favorite new round robot, BB-8.

— cristela guerra, BostonGlobe.com, "There’s still time to enjoy a slice of Pi Day," 14 Mar. 2018
On The Split Veleta, his volume in Another Timbre Records’ recent five-album survey of Canadian composers, the pensive violin and piano melodies wind and wander but never quite resolve.

— bill meyer, Chicago Reader, "Canadian composer and musician Martin Arnold opens the third Frequency Festival with collaborations with local musicians," 8 Feb. 2018
Not3s Not3s is more about melody than pensive rhymes, but especially in today’s musical climate, sometimes that's OK.

— joseph 'jp' patterson, Billboard, "5 U.K. Rappers Primed to Take Over America in 2018," 2 Feb. 2018
The women’s fall-winter 2018 collection inhabits a pensive space where the organic meets the industrial.

— cathy horyn, The Cut, "The Case for Apolitical Fashion," 3 Mar. 2018
At least the postgame locker room, where his smart and pensive answers the past month have brought perspective and calm to the team.

— shawn windsor, Detroit Free Press, "3 takeaways: MSU's Miles Bridges finds a way despite rough outing," 25 Feb. 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of pensive

Middle English pensif, from Anglo-French, from penser to think, from Latin pensare to ponder, frequentative of pendere to weigh — more at pendant

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year