pensive

[ pen-siv ]

adjective

1. dreamily or wistfully thoughtful:

   a pensive mood.

   Antonyms: thoughtless

2. expressing or revealing thoughtfulness, usually marked by some sadness:

   a pensive adagio.

pensive

/ ˈpɛnsɪv /

adjective

1. deeply or seriously thoughtful, often with a tinge of sadness
2. expressing or suggesting pensiveness

Derived Forms

• ˈpensiveness, noun
• ˈpensively, adverb

Other Words From

• pensive·ly adverb
• pensive·ness noun
• over·pensive adjective
• over·pensive·ly adverb
• over·pensive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pensive¹

First recorded in 1325–75; from French (feminine); replacing Middle English pensif, from Middle French (masculine), from pens(er) “to think” (from Latin pēnsāre “to consider, weigh,” literally, “to hang repeatedly,” from pendere “to cause to hang, consider, weigh”) + -if -ive

Word History and Origins

Origin of pensive¹

C14: from Old French pensif, from penser to think, from Latin pensāre to consider; compare pension ¹

Synonym Study

Pensive , meditative , reflective suggest quiet modes of apparent or real thought. Pensive , the weakest of the three, suggests dreaminess or wistfulness, and may involve little or no thought to any purpose: a pensive, faraway look. Meditative involves thinking of certain facts or phenomena, perhaps in the religious sense of “contemplation,” without necessarily having a goal of complete understanding or of action: meditative but unjudicial. Reflective has a strong implication of orderly, perhaps analytic, processes of thought, usually with a definite goal of understanding: a careful and reflective critic.

Example Sentences

“Retreat” is a film of few words and magnificent images, where the drama unfolds suggestively in hints and gestures, and in the pensive performances of Heiniger and Hottinger.

From New York Times

Meanwhile, a pensive Dubois appeared a little eager to get the media formalities out of the way.

From BBC

The dog that appears in the movie is a Great Dane named Bing, who weighs 151 pounds and can look pensive on cue.

From Los Angeles Times

Rep SG with your chest, or rather, on your chest, with dangling little embellishments like a blinged-out strawberry or framed pensive kitty.

From Los Angeles Times

The bobble-headed anchors on most major networks nodded their approval and reflected on the unity of the GOP and the pensive nature of Hulk Hogan and Donald Trump.

From Salon

Related Words

• contemplative
• dreamy
• sober
• thoughtful
• wistful