Meaning

3 senses
  1. Engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.

    He sat in pensive silence, weighing his options carefully.

  2. Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic, thinking.

    The author’s tone grows pensive in the final chapters.

    nachdenklich, gedankenvoll, gedankenverloren

    заду́мчивыйzadúmčivyj, размышля́ющийrazmyšljájuščij

    заду́мливийzadúmlyvyj

  3. Looking thoughtful, especially from sadness.

    nachdenklich, gedankenverloren, sinnig

    печа́льныйpečálʹnyj, гру́стныйgrústnyj

    заду́мливийzadúmlyvyj

    showing pensive sadness

Examples

14 sentences
  1. Tom looked pensive.

    ruТом выглядел задумчивым.

    deTom sah nachdenklich aus.

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  2. He is a very pensive person.

    ruОн очень задумчивый человек.

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  3. She was quiet and pensive yesterday.

    ruВчера она была задумчива и молчалива.

    deSie war gestern nachdenklich und schweigsam.

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  4. Yesterday he was quiet and pensive.

    ruВчера он был задумчив и молчалив.

    deEr war gestern nachdenklich und schweigsam.

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  5. Why are you looking so pensive today?

    ruПочему ты выглядишь таким задумчивым сегодня?

    deWarum zeigst du uns heute ein so nachdenkliches Gesicht?

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Translations

8 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
having the appearance of thinking:
Русский
By meaning 2
having the appearance of thinking:
looking thoughtful or sad:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
having the appearance of thinking:
looking thoughtful or sad:

Origin

From Middle English pensif, pensyfe, pencyve, from Old French pensif (“thoughtful”), from

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

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

more pensive, most pensive
Comparativemore pensive Lesson
Superlativemost pensive Lesson

regular

Synonyms

10 synonyms

Antonyms

3 antonyms

Word family

6 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
pensive — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto