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Pensive vs Whet - What's the difference?

pensive | whet |

As an adjective pensive

is having the appearance of deep, often melancholic, thinking.

As a verb whet is

to hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.

As a noun whet is

the act of whetting something.

pensive

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic, thinking.
  • Looking thoughtful, especially from sadness.
  • * 1748 . David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 4.
  • Abstruse thought and profound researches I prohibit, and will severely punish, by the pensive melancholy which they introduce

    Derived terms

    * pensively * pensiveness

    Anagrams

    * ----

    whet

    English

    Verb

    (whett)
  • To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
  • * Milton
  • The mower whets his scythe.
  • * Byron
  • Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak.
  • To stimulate or make more keen.
  • to whet one's appetite or one's courage
  • * Shakespeare
  • Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, / I have not slept.
  • * 2003-10-20 , Naomi Wolf, The Porn Myth] , [http://nymag.com/ New York Magazine
  • In the end, porn doesn’t whet men’s appetites—it turns them off the real thing.

    Derived terms

    * whetstone

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of whetting something.
  • That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.
  • * Spectator
  • * sips, drams, and whets
  • Anagrams

    *