noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A thoughtful or reflective state, especially if sad or melancholic. uncountable

   "We left quietly so as not to disturb the widow's pensiveness."

2. 2
   deep serious thoughtfulness wordnet
3. 3
   persistent morbid meditation on a problem wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

absorptionabstractionbroodingbrown studycastle buildingcastle-building

Example

More examples

"We left quietly so as not to disturb the widow's pensiveness."

Etymology

From pensive + -ness.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.