pensively
adverb
pensively is spelled P-E-N-S-I-V-E-L-Y: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, pensively means “In a thoughtful or reflective manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pensively?
| Letters | 9: P-E-N-S-I-V-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 16 million words; the 121,279th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pensively?
Pensively appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of pensively
- more pensively comparative
- most pensively superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pensively mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a thoughtful or reflective manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pensively in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a thoughtful or reflective manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | pensativamente |
| Spanish | pensativamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pensively come from?
From pensive + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).