plucky

[pluhk-ee]

adjective

pluckier, pluckiest 

1. having or showing pluck or courage; brave.

   The drowning swimmer was rescued by a plucky schoolboy.

   Synonyms: spirited, spunky, cheerful, determined, courageous

plucky

/ ˈplʌkɪ /

adjective

1. having or showing courage in the face of difficulties, danger, etc

Other Word Forms

• pluckily adverb
• pluckiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of plucky¹

First recorded in 1820–30; pluck + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Farrell was far from disappointed with his side thanks to their plucky defence which managed to keep their hopes alive of grinding out an unlikely victory.

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“And we’re a plucky group of one-time adventurers. You do the math.”

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The novelty of her situation was not lost on the plucky young governess.

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Yet there are times when even the pluckiest among us fail to follow this sage advice.

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It was possible that a delayed-onset case of holiday fatigue was finally catching up with the usually plucky young governess.

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Related Words

• courageous 
• gutsy 
• heroic 
• spirited 
• spunky 
• valiant