coltish
Americanadjective
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playful; frolicsome.
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of, relating to, or resembling a colt.
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not trained or disciplined; unruly; wild.
adjective
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inexperienced; unruly
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playful and lively
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coltish
Explanation
An energetic, playful person can be described as coltish. A coltish preschooler might skip happily across the room and then slide to a stop in her socks. There's something a little young and awkward implied in the word coltish, which arose in the 14th century from the sense of a colt, or young horse, as a lively, frolicking, long-legged creature. Skinny-legged teenagers dashing around a mall are coltish, and a soccer team of five year-olds is made up of happy, coltish players.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of the youngsters was a coltish winger from Carmagnola, a pretty market town just south of Turin.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2023
The requirements of intimacy acting aside, she brings coltish physicality and expressive flush to all her scenes — whether lonely or laughing, aggravated or emboldened.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2022
And those girls are indeed a light: Sidney and Singleton show giggly chemistry as sisters and coltish joy on the tennis courts.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2021
Jordan had progressed from a promising but coltish No 3 pick in the 1984 draft to the NBA’s first authentic international superstar; his rise paralleled, or rather propelled, the global rise of the league.
From The Guardian • Apr. 19, 2020
I’d axed Pap, “But how can you tell if they’s gonna be any good hunting when they’s acting so coltish and foolish, Pap?”
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
