Meaning & use
pensive
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Quietly thoughtful, often in a slightly sad or serious way.
Grammar: Used after be or before a noun: a pensive mood.
Patterns
- pensive about something
- a pensive look
She sat by the window, pensive and silent.
He gave a pensive smile as the train left.
The old man grew pensive when asked about the war.
adjectivebefore a nounliterary
Expressing or suggesting quiet thought, as of music, art or a mood.
Grammar: Describes things: a pensive melody.
Patterns
- a pensive melody
- a pensive mood
The pianist played a pensive melody.
The painting has a pensive, gray tone.
A pensive mood settled over the room.
Word forms
| comparative | more pensive |
|---|---|
| superlative | most pensive |
Common combinations
- pensive mood
- The rain left her in a pensive mood.
- pensive look
- He wore a pensive look at the funeral.
- pensive silence
- They stood in pensive silence.
- grow pensive
- She grew pensive when he mentioned home.
- look pensive
- He looked pensive at the news.
Synonyms and how they differ
- thoughtful
- Thoughtful can also mean considerate toward others, which pensive never does.
- contemplative
- Contemplative suggests calm, deep reflection without necessarily sadness.
- brooding
- Brooding is darker and suggests dwelling on worries or anger.
- wistful
- Wistful adds a longing for something lost, which pensive does not always include.
Opposites
Word family
- pensively adverb
- in a quietly thoughtful manner
- pensiveness noun
- the state of being quietly thoughtful
- pensée noun
- a thought, especially a short written reflection
Commonly confused: pensive or pension?
pensive vs pension
A pension is money paid after retirement, and differs from pensive despite similar spelling.
Practice
After reading the letter, she stared out the window with a ___ expression.
Choose one answer.
Pensive describes a quietly thoughtful look. Passive means not acting, and perceptive means quick to notice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pensive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.