Pensively

pen·sive  (pnsv)

adj.

1. Deeply, often wistfully or dreamily thoughtful.

2. Suggestive or expressive of melancholy thoughtfulness.

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[Middle English pensif, from Old French, from penser, to think, from Latin pnsre, frequentative of pendere, to weigh; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.]

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pensive·ly adv.

pensive·ness n.

Synonyms: pensive, contemplative, reflective, meditative, thoughtful
These adjectives mean characterized by or disposed to thought, especially serious or deep thought. Pensive often connotes a wistful, dreamy, or sad quality: "while pensive poets painful vigils keep" (Alexander Pope).
Contemplative implies slow directed consideration, often with conscious intent of achieving better understanding or spiritual or aesthetic enrichment: "The Contemplative Atheist is rare ... And yet they seem to be more than they are" (Francis Bacon).
Reflective suggests careful analytical deliberation, as in reappraising past experience: "Cromwell was of the active, not the reflective temper" (John Morley).
Meditative implies earnest sustained thought: The scholar was reticent, aloof, and meditative.
Thoughtful can refer to absorption in thought or to the habit of reflection and circumspection: Thoughtful voters carefully considered the candidates.

Thesaurus

Adv.

1.

pensively - in a pensive manner; "pensively he stared at the painting"