pensive

modif.

pensive suggests a dreamy, often somewhat sad or melancholy concentration of thought the pensive look in her eye; contemplative implies intent concentration of thought, as on some abstract matter, often connoting this as a habitual practice a contemplative scholar; reflective suggests an orderly, often analytical turning over in the mind, as of past events, usually with the aim of reaching some definite understanding after a reflective pause he answered; meditative implies a quiet and sustained musing, without necessarily having a definite intention of understanding or reaching a conclusion a meditative walk in the cloister