pensive

Definition

Engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.

Etymology

From Middle English pensif, pensyfe, pencyve, from Old French pensif (“thoughtful”), from penser (“to think”) (from Latin pēnsō) + -if (English -ive).

Example Sentences

• "He sat in pensive silence, weighing his options carefully."
• "The author’s tone grows pensive in the final chapters."
• "Abstruse thought and profound researches I prohibit, and will severely punish, by the pensive melancholy which they introduce"

Related Words