pensive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The set is led by Richter’s 1982 “Candle,” a pensive view of a white, flickering candle that the house expects to sell for at least $35 million.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

The assistant searched for herself in one of the pictures, then scanned the faces, pensive.

From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026

More recent interpreters underline the song’s vast reach, from Harolyn Blackwell’s operatic radiance and Norah Jones’s hushed Tanglewood version to Kenny Barron’s pensive piano meditation and Willie Nelson’s weathered country croon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Later, on the pensive Slow Jam, he stares old age in the face and wonders how "you've gone from all you that could be to all that you once were".

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2025

Orr asked with a pretense of pensive curiosity.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller