pensive

adjective pen·sive \ ˈpen(t)-siv \

|Updated on: 3 Aug 2018

Examples: pensive in a Sentence

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

Spider-Man’s pensive moments — when Peter agonized over sacrifices his alter ego had demanded of him, for example — echoed the psychological struggles in Mr. Ditko’s earlier horror comics.

— andy webster, New York Times, "Steve Ditko, Influential Comic-Book Artist Who Helped Create Spider-Man, Dies at 90," 7 July 2018
There’s her non-granddaughter most importantly, a precise, pensive, tender girl, but also a modest doctor, a shy teenager, a dog named Airplane.

— charles finch, USA TODAY, "Time heals family wounds in Anne Tyler's lovely new novel, 'Clock Dance'," 9 July 2018
Throughout the makeover, Elana Frey sat outside in a red folding chair, pensive, waiting, oblivious to the Metro Expo Line train that streaked by on its way downtown.

— barbara thornburg, latimes.com, "A South L.A. apartment gets the celebrity treatment," 8 June 2018
On the way to his car after the game, Baarns was pensive.

— kurt streeter, New York Times, "The Allegory of the Baseball Broadcast Booth," 6 June 2018
The Wu Tang Clan’s pensive member travels to meet with scientists studying the innovations in virtual reality, manufacturing and both ocean and space exploration.

— gabe cohn, New York Times, "What’s on TV Saturday: ‘It’ and ‘Liquid Science’," 30 June 2018
There is no malice in any of this, just a simple, unblinking desperation to be viewed as the popular pensive gentleman Jordan sees himself as.

— refinery29.com, "Jordan Is The Bachelorette’s Surprise Tragic Figure," 26 June 2018
The artwork shows a pensive Minaj seductively posing on a fallen tree trunk, wearing pasties and Egyptian beads.

— connor whittum, Billboard, "Nicki Minaj Reveals Regal 'Queen' Album Cover," 7 June 2018
As a result, Clay is often seen looking pensive, quiet and expressionless.

— kevin o'keefe, chicagotribune.com, "‘13 Reasons Why,’ Season 2, argues for its existence," 16 May 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

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