If you are pensive, you are thinking deeply about something, especially something that worries you slightly.
He looked suddenly sombre, pensive.
Synonyms: thoughtful, serious, sad, blue [informal] More Synonyms of pensive
pensivelyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
Angela stared pensively out of the window.
pensive in British English
(ˈpɛnsɪv)
adjective
1.
deeply or seriously thoughtful, often with a tinge of sadness
2.
expressing or suggesting pensiveness
Derived forms
pensively (ˈpensively)
adverb
pensiveness (ˈpensiveness)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Old French pensif, from penser to think, from Latin pensāre to consider; compare pension1
pensive in American English
(ˈpɛnsɪv)
adjective
1.
thinking deeply or seriously, often of sad or melancholy things
2.
expressing deep thoughtfulness, often with some sadness
SYNONYMY NOTE: pensive suggests a dreamy, often somewhat sad or melancholy concentration of thought [the pensive look in her eye]; contemplative implies intent concentration of thought as on some abstract matter, often connotingthis as a habitual practice [a contemplative scholar]; reflective suggests an orderly, often analytical turning over in the mind with the aim of reachingsome definite understanding [after a reflective pause he answered]; meditative, on the other hand, implies a quiet and sustained musing, but with no definite intentionof understanding or reaching a conclusion [a meditative walk in the cloister]
Derived forms
pensively (ˈpensively)
adverb
pensiveness (ˈpensiveness)
noun
Word origin
ME pensif < OFr < penser, to think, reflect < L pensare, to weigh, consider, freq. of pendere, to ponder, weigh, hang: see pendant
Examples of 'pensive' in a sentence
pensive
He looks a little pensive and stiff.
The Sun (2014)
He looks pensive for a moment.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The mood was pensive as each board member filed into the high school classroom and sat in chairs arranged in a large oval.
Christianity Today (2000)
It's an anniversary that has put him in pensive mood.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The next beat she turns pensive: she has two dogs to look after.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The mood again turned pensive.
Oliver Poole BLACK KNIGHTS: On the Bloody Road to Baghdad (2003)
In others he is praying, or striking a military posture, or looking pensive and scholarly.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He was pictured in Los Angeles looking pensive as he spoke to two protection officers.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Another walker said: 'He kept his head down and looked pensive and pale.
The Sun (2010)
She is a composer; she has a warm and vulnerable face and veers wildly between moods, usually pensive or laughing.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
No. Did I nod whilst looking pensive?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
(adjective)
Definition
deeply thoughtful, often with a tinge of sadness
She looked suddenly sombre and pensive.
Synonyms
thoughtful
He was looking very thoughtful.
serious
He's quite a serious person.
sad
The loss left me feeling sad and empty.
blue (informal)
There's no earthly reason for me to feel so blue.
grave
She could tell by his grave expression that something terrible had happened.
sober
We are now far more sober and realistic.
musing
preoccupied
melancholy
It was at this time of day that I felt most melancholy.
solemn
His solemn little face broke into smiles.
reflective
Marek is a quiet, reflective man.
dreamy
His face assumed a dreamy expression.
wistful
There was a wistful look in his eyes when he spoke of his childhood.
mournful
the mournful wail of bagpipes
contemplative
He is a quiet, contemplative sort of chap.
meditative
Music can induce a meditative state in the listener.
sorrowful
His father's face looked suddenly soft and sorrowful.
ruminative
in a brown study (informal)
cogitative
Opposites
happy
,
active
,
cheerful
,
frivolous
,
joyous
,
carefree
,
gay
,
light-hearted
Additional synonyms
in the sense of blue
Definition
depressed or unhappy
There's no earthly reason for me to feel so blue.
Synonyms
depressed,
low,
sad,
unhappy,
fed up,
gloomy,
dismal,
melancholy,
glum,
dejected,
despondent,
downcast,
down in the dumps (informal),
down in the mouth,
low-spirited,
down-hearted
in the sense of contemplative
Definition
of or given to contemplation
He is a quiet, contemplative sort of chap.
Synonyms
thoughtful,
reflective,
introspective,
rapt,
meditative,
pensive,
ruminative,
in a brown study,
intent,
musing,
deep or lost in thought
in the sense of dreamy
Definition
vague or impractical
His face assumed a dreamy expression.
Synonyms
vague,
abstracted,
absent,
musing,
preoccupied,
daydreaming,
faraway,
pensive,
in a reverie,
with your head in the clouds
Nearby words of
pensive
pennyworth
pension
pensioner
pensive
pent-up
penurious
penury
Synonyms of 'pensive'
pensive
Explore 'pensive' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of grave
Definition
serious and solemn in appearance or behaviour
She could tell by his grave expression that something terrible had happened.
Synonyms
solemn,
sober,
gloomy,
dull,
thoughtful,
subdued,
sombre,
dour,
grim-faced,
long-faced,
unsmiling
in the sense of meditative
Music can induce a meditative state in the listener.
Synonyms
reflective,
thoughtful,
contemplative,
studious,
pensive,
deliberative,
ruminative,
cogitative
in the sense of melancholy
Definition
characterized by, causing, or expressing sadness
It was at this time of day that I felt most melancholy.
Synonyms
sad,
down,
depressed,
unhappy,
low,
blue,
miserable,
moody,
gloomy,
dismal,
sombre,
woeful,
glum,
mournful,
dejected,
despondent,
dispirited,
melancholic,
downcast,
lugubrious,
pensive,
sorrowful,
disconsolate,
joyless,
doleful,
downhearted,
heavy-hearted,
down in the dumps (informal),
woebegone,
down in the mouth,
low-spirited
in the sense of mournful
Definition
(of a sound) suggestive or reminiscent of grief or sadness
the mournful wail of bagpipes
Synonyms
sad,
distressing,
unhappy,
tragic,
painful,
afflicting,
melancholy,
harrowing,
grievous,
woeful,
deplorable,
lamentable,
plaintive,
calamitous,
sorrowful,
piteous
in the sense of reflective
Definition
characterized by quiet thought or contemplation
Marek is a quiet, reflective man.
Synonyms
thoughtful,
contemplative,
meditative,
pensive,
reasoning,
pondering,
deliberative,
ruminative,
cogitating
in the sense of sad
Definition
feeling sorrow
The loss left me feeling sad and empty.
Synonyms
unhappy,
down,
low,
blue,
depressed,
gloomy,
grieved,
dismal,
melancholy,
sombre,
glum,
wistful,
mournful,
dejected,
downcast,
grief-stricken,
tearful,
lugubrious,
pensive,
disconsolate,
doleful,
heavy-hearted,
down in the dumps (informal),
cheerless,
lachrymose,
woebegone,
down in the mouth (informal),
low-spirited,
triste (archaic),
sick at heart
in the sense of serious
Definition
not cheerful
He's quite a serious person.
Synonyms
solemn,
earnest,
grave,
stern,
sober,
thoughtful,
sedate,
glum,
staid,
humourless,
long-faced,
pensive,
unsmiling
in the sense of sober
Definition
serious and thoughtful
We are now far more sober and realistic.
Synonyms
serious,
practical,
realistic,
sound,
cool,
calm,
grave,
reasonable,
steady,
composed,
rational,
solemn,
lucid,
sedate,
staid,
level-headed,
dispassionate,
unruffled,
clear-headed,
unexcited,
grounded
in the sense of solemn
Definition
serious or glum
His solemn little face broke into smiles.
Synonyms
serious,
earnest,
grave,
sober,
thoughtful,
sedate,
glum,
staid,
portentous
in the sense of sorrowful
His father's face looked suddenly soft and sorrowful.
Synonyms
sad,
unhappy,
miserable,
sorry,
depressed,
painful,
distressed,
grieving,
dismal,
afflicted,
melancholy,
tearful,
heartbroken,
woeful,
mournful,
dejected,
rueful,
lugubrious,
wretched,
disconsolate,
doleful,
heavy-hearted,
down in the dumps (informal),
woebegone,
piteous,
sick at heart
Additional synonyms
in the sense of wistful
Definition
sadly wishing for something lost or unobtainable
There was a wistful look in his eyes when he spoke of his childhood.