pensive
adjective
pen·sive
ˈpen(t)-siv 
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
Herman Wouk
pensively
adverb
pensiveness
noun
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
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
The post included a series of pictures of D’Angelo in the studio, as well as a snap of the two musicians in which D is giving one of his classic pensive, knowing looks and Hill is smiling as the pair lean their heads together.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2025
Stephen depicts the women’s schooltime bond in hypnotic flashbacks, and their separation largely through absence itself, with gliding, pensive shots of places—rooms, buildings, streets—where the women have been and may be again but which, onscreen, are vacant.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2025
Cain’s pensive, artfully antiquated production (mostly helmed by Ka himself) colors between the lines of his thesis: No amount of institutional strife, familial grief, or white guilt should ever knock you off your pivot.
—Pitchfork, 30 Sep. 2025
What’s also deceptively passive: the book’s title, particularly that ellipsis, which suggests a pensive ambiguity, maybe even ambivalence.
—Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pensive
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Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2025
Stephen depicts the women’s schooltime bond in hypnotic flashbacks, and their separation largely through absence itself, with gliding, pensive shots of places—rooms, buildings, streets—where the women have been and may be again but which, onscreen, are vacant.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2025
Cain’s pensive, artfully antiquated production (mostly helmed by Ka himself) colors between the lines of his thesis: No amount of institutional strife, familial grief, or white guilt should ever knock you off your pivot.
—Pitchfork, 30 Sep. 2025
What’s also deceptively passive: the book’s title, particularly that ellipsis, which suggests a pensive ambiguity, maybe even ambivalence.
—Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pensive
Cite this Entry
“Pensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pensive. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pensive
adjective
pen·sive
ˈpen(t)-siv
1
: dreamily thoughtful
2
: suggestive of sad thoughtfulness
pensively
adverb
pensiveness
noun
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