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Definition of Pensive
1. Adjective. Deeply or seriously thoughtful. "Byron lives on not only in his poetry, but also in his creation of the 'Byronic hero' - the persona of a brooding melancholy young man"
Similar to: Thoughtful
Derivative terms: Contemplate, Contemplate, Contemplativeness, Meditate, Meditate, Meditativeness, Pensiveness, Reflect, Reflectivity, Ruminate
2. Adjective. Showing pensive sadness. "The sensitive and wistful response of a poet to the gentler phases of beauty"
Definition of Pensive
1. a. Thoughtful, sober, or sad; employed in serious reflection; given to, or favorable to, earnest or melancholy musing.
Definition of Pensive
1. Adjective. Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic, thinking. ¹
2. Adjective. Looking thoughtful, especially from sadness. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Pensive
1. engaged in deep thought [adj]
Medical Definition of Pensive
1. 1. Thoughtful, sober, or sad; employed in serious reflection; given to, or favorable to, earnest or melancholy musing. "The pensive secrecy of desert cell." (Milton) "Anxious cares the pensive nymph oppressed." (Pope) 2. Expressing or suggesting thoughtfulness with sadness; as, pensive numbers. Origin: F. Pensif, fr. Penser to think, fr. L. Pensare to weigh, ponder, consider, v. Intens. Fr. Pendere to weigh. See Pension, Poise. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Pensive
Literary usage of Pensive
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Complete Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott by Walter Scott (1900)
"... deafened ear Grows quick that lady's step to hear: At noontide she expects
her not, Nor busies her to trim the cot; pensive she turns her humming wheel, ..."
2. The Complete Works of Gustave Flaubert: Embracing Romances, Travels by Gustave Flaubert, Ferdinand Brunetière (1904)
"... was pensive; the eccentricities of the Revolution exceeded his own. After leaving
the café, when they repaired to the Hôtel de Ville to learn the news, ..."
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