pensive

adjective

pen·​sive ˈpen(t)-siv 

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

pensively adverb

pensiveness noun

Synonyms of pensive

• melancholy
• thoughtful
• reflective
• contemplative
• somber

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

His 2025 tape, WOMB, embodied this through his pensive grumbles over wispy vocal chops; each bar that cut through the fog was steeped in sober gravitas. —Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 27 Apr. 2026

The subject is pensive, expressionless and looking away from the camera. —Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 27 Apr. 2026

But Giroux’s tone was much more pensive when speaking to the media on Monday. —Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

The undercurrent of pensive sadness gives the movie an emotional depth that helps counter its relatively rote approach. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pensif "sad, anxious, thoughtful, lost in thought," borrowed from Anglo-French (also continental Old French), from penser "to think of, consider, ponder" (borrowed from Latin pensāre "to weigh, counterbalance, weigh in the mind, consider," iterative of pendere "to weigh, have a weight of, pay [out], estimate, consider") + -if -ive — more at pendent

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pensive

• tensive
• antihypertensive
• apprehensive
• coextensive
• comprehensive
• hypertensive
• hypotensive
• inexpensive
• inoffensive
• normotensive
• counteroffensive
• defensive

Kids Definition

pensive

adjective

pen·​sive ˈpen(t)-siv 

1

: dreamily thoughtful

2

: suggestive of sad thoughtfulness

pensively adverb

pensiveness noun