plucky

American  

[pluhk-ee] / ˈplʌk i /

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

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plucky British  

/ ˈplʌkɪ /

adjective

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

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Other Word Forms

• pluckily adverb
• pluckiness noun

Etymology

Origin of plucky

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

Example Sentences

The tag was also, incidentally, a play on “The Blue Dahlia,” a 1946 movie written by Raymond Chandler and starring Veronica Lake as a plucky drifter who helps the hero track down his wife’s murderer.

From The Wall Street Journal

Time and time again on “Parks and Recreation,” the intrepid and plucky Leslie cut through legislative red tape and won over her enemies, and the ones she couldn’t persuade always looked like cold-hearted fools.

From Salon

As an adult, I’ve tried to will myself back into enthrallment with this plucky heroine who repels a scary hobo, bravely goes without food and saves a poor Italian immigrant when others are against her.

From The Wall Street Journal

Adam Johnson conjures the watery world of the precolonial Tuʻitonga empire in this fictional saga of sovereigns, warriors, celestial navigators and plucky commoners.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.

From Barron's

Related Words

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