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
pensively
adverbpensiveness
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
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
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The mix of absurd costumes, vivid colors, and pensive acting could’ve emanated from the many works that Kesha Sebert has digested in her omnivorous years.
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There will be pensive looks out at the horizon, where the sharks are.
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Though his music was often stark and pensive, Molina had immense trouble sitting still, always imagining that the next home would be better than the current one.
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His ideas and moods are complex, ranging from urgent to heartbreaking to pensive.
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Bruno (Cristian Carvajal) and Consuelo (Blanca Lewin, wonderfully pensive) sense that something's a little off.
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Gomez's vocals are creatively chopped and layered to give it a pensive tone.
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His lustrous sound and tenderness were ideal for the pensive passages of the slow movement.
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Kristen Stewart, still best known as the star of the Twilight mega-franchise, rebranded herself as an international indie darling with Olivier Assayas’s gorgeous, pensive Clouds of Sils Maria.
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
PENSIVE Defined for English Language Learners
pensive
playDefinition of pensive for English Language Learners
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: quietly sad or thoughtful
PENSIVE Defined for Kids
pensive
playDefinition of pensive for Students
: lost in serious or sad thought a pensive mood
pensively
adverbLearn More about pensive
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pensive Spanish Central: Translation of pensive Nglish: Translation of pensive for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pensive for Arabic speakers
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