Pensées

American  

[pahn-seyz, pahn-, pahn-sey] / pɑnˈseɪz, pɑ̃-, pɑ̃ˈseɪ /

noun

1. a collection of notes, essays, etc., dealing with religious and philosophical matters by Blaise Pascal, published posthumously in 1670.

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Pensées Cultural  

1. A set of reflections on religion by Blaise Pascal (pensées is French for “thoughts”). This work contains the famous statement “The heart has its reasons that reason does not know.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Pensées

The machine was included in Christie's auction of the library of the late Catalonia collector Léon Parcé, which also featured Pascal's philosophical piece Pensées and the first printed version of "Pascal's wager".

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025

This story was originally published on Pascal’s Pensées and has been republished here with permission.

From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2017

Pensées d'un Baigneur.—A bather has plenty of time to emulate the celebrated parrot.

From Punch, or the London Charivari. Volume 93, September 10, 1887 by Various

I put down the Pensées of Pascal,—- a book for which I have a strange predilection, though I do not like the man who wrote it.

From My New Curate by Sheehan, Patrick Augustine

There is something very like this in the "Pensées" of Pascal.

From Three French Moralists and The Gallantry of France by Gosse, Edmund