pensive

Definitions

pens (from Latin pensāre, 'to weigh carefully,' a strengthened form of pendere) + -ive (adj.) = 'given to weighing things.' A pensive person is mentally weighing thoughts — turning ideas over and over on the scales of the mind. That inward, careful weighing looks like quiet, faraway reflection.

Why It Means This

Pensive comes from 'weighing,' the same image behind compensate and expense — but here what's being weighed is thoughts, not money or losses. The mind sets one idea against another, weighing them, and the outward sign of that inner weighing is a quiet, absorbed, slightly melancholy look.

Common Collocations

• 1.a pensive mood沉思的心境
• 2.a pensive expression若有所思的表情
• 3.look pensive显得若有所思
• 4.fall pensive陷入沉思

Example Sentences

• 1.

  She sat by the window in a pensive mood, watching the rain.

• 2.

  His pensive expression suggested he was troubled by something.

• 3.

  After the news, the whole room fell into a pensive silence.

Easily Confused

pensive vs thoughtful — Thoughtful has two senses: deep in thought, OR considerate of others (a thoughtful gift). Pensive only means the first, and adds a quiet, dreamy, faintly sad tone. A thoughtful friend is kind; a pensive friend is lost in reflection.