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.

He published a half-playful, half-serious essay about his complex relationship with his own father, a union worker in Pennsylvania.

From New York Times • Dec. 15, 2018

There was a half-playful, half-earnest note of pleading in her voice, but the White Chief noticed that her eyes did not fully meet his.

From Where the Sun Swings North by Willoughby, Barrett

"I've been longing for you," she said, seeming to awake suddenly from her half-dreamy half-playful account of the life she had been living.

From Quisanté by Hope, Anthony

"I can conceive of another reason why a good man should not harbor such serpents in disguise," he said, in the pleasant, half-playful tone which the conversation had latterly assumed.

From Three People by Pansy

He seldom went far away from Concord, and, in a half-playful way, he used to view everything in the world from a Concord standpoint.

From The Story of the Innumerable Company, and Other Sketches by Jordan, David Starr