pensive
[ pen-siv ]
/ ˈpɛn sɪv /
adjective
dreamily or wistfully thoughtful: a pensive mood.
expressing or revealing thoughtfulness, usually marked by some sadness: a pensive adagio.
QUIZZES
LEARN THE SPANISH WORDS FOR THESE COMMON ANIMALS!
Are you learning Spanish? Or do you just have an interest in foreign languages? Either way, this quiz on Spanish words for animals is for you.
Question 1 of 13
How do you say “cat” 🐈 in Spanish?
Origin of pensive
synonym study for pensive
1. 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.
OTHER WORDS FROM pensive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for pensive
What Is “GOP” Short For?
Laying Down The Law On “Sedition” vs. “Treason” vs. “Insurrection” vs. “Coup”
“Affect” vs. “Effect”: Use The Correct Word Every Time
“Have” vs. “Has”: When To Use Each One
What You Need To Know About “Protester” vs. “Rioter” vs. “Terrorist” vs. “Mob”
What Is An Em Dash And How Do You Use It?
British Dictionary definitions for pensive
pensive
/ (ˈpɛnsɪv) /
adjective
deeply or seriously thoughtful, often with a tinge of sadness
expressing or suggesting pensiveness
Derived forms of pensive
pensively, adverbpensiveness, nounWord Origin for pensive
C14: from Old French pensif, from penser to think, from Latin pensāre to consider; compare pension 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012