Meanings
- uncountableA thoughtful or reflective state, especially if sad or melancholic.
We left quietly so as not to disturb the widow's pensiveness.
1 more example
Yet the employment seemed a pleasant one; her cheek was flushed with a clear, rich crimson—her face / "Was like any fair lake that the morning is on, / When it breaks into dimples, and laughs in the sun." / And if, ever and anon, the brow was clouded by a shade of pensiveness, it was quickly dispelled by the consciousness of present happiness.
1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 106
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Italian pensierosità
- pensierositàthoughtful or reflective state
Cite this entry
pensiveness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pensiveness
“pensiveness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pensiveness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pensiveness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pensiveness.
Source: pensiveness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.