pensive

adjective

pen·​sive ˈpen(t)-siv How to pronounce pensive (audio)
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 paintingHerman 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
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The dog that appears in the movie is a Great Dane named Bing, who weighs 151 pounds and can look pensive on cue. Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024 The album then descends into a mix of West Coast bops and pensive soulful cuts, tapping Mustard yet again and a slew of local west coast artists that people may not have been familiar with. Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 22 Nov. 2024 There have been city symphonies in cinema before, but Kapadia’s film is altogether more pensive and intimate. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 15 Nov. 2024 TVs broadcast some of his career's vital moments as people waited in line amid pensive cello music. Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 10 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pensive 

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pensive was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near pensive

Cite this Entry

“Pensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pensive. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

pensive

adjective
pen·​sive ˈpen(t)-siv How to pronounce pensive (audio)
1
: dreamily thoughtful
2
: suggestive of sad thoughtfulness
pensively adverb
pensiveness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on pensive

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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