playful
Americanadjective
-
full of play or fun; sportive; frolicsome.
-
pleasantly humorous or jesting.
a playful remark.
adjective
-
full of high spirits and fun
a playful kitten
-
good-natured and humorous
a playful remark
Other Word Forms
- half-playful adjective
- half-playfully adverb
- half-playfulness noun
- playfully adverb
- playfulness noun
- unplayful adjective
- unplayfully adverb
Etymology
Origin of playful
First recorded in 1200–50, playful is from the Middle English word pleiful. See play, -ful
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.
Even in his most outrageous roles, Van Der Beek remained playful, never wanting to deny or destroy that beloved version of himself that viewers held in their hearts.
From Salon
A bit of tinkering – stripping the original’s heavy bassline, tossing in his lithe falsetto and a playful guitar to hold everything aloft – made the one-time throwaway into something immortal.
From Salon
In a set of playful experiments modeled after children's tea parties, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have shown for the first time that apes can use imagination and take part in pretend play.
From Science Daily
"My initial gut reaction is if they want to do that and it's kind of playful, that's fine," Kidd said.
From BBC
But the mascots and these artistic figures bring a lighter, more playful energy to Games branding, but they served a different purpose: accessibility and universal appeal rather than historical gravitas.
From Salon
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.
