prank

[prangk]

See more synonyms for prank on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to dress or adorn in an ostentatious manner: They were all pranked out in their fanciest clothes.

verb (used without object)

to make an ostentatious show or display.

Origin of prank

1540–50; akin to Dutch pronken to show off, strut, pronk show, finery, Middle Low German prank pomp

Related formsun·pranked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pranked

bedeck, embellish, festoon, beautify, embroider, adorn, dress, trim, illuminate, deck, brighten, grace, renovate, paint, gild, enrich, primp, polish, array, garnish

Examples from the Web for pranked

Contemporary Examples of pranked

For centuries, on the first of April people have pranked one another just for the lolz.
Lame Duck Laughs From Political Pranksters
Olivia Nuzzi
April 1, 2014
There is this unspoken idea that if you participate in it you will be mocked and trolled and pranked.
More Shocking Than Online Suicides Are the Crowds Who Clamor to Watch
Caitlin Dickson
December 10, 2013

Historical Examples of pranked

The poles were pranked with nosegays, and a chaplet was hung round the horns of every ox.
Harold, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The woodways were pranked with shadows and the fields with the purple of the asters.
Anne Of The Island
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Some meadows in the distance, pranked with ranunculuses, looked like stretches of green water reflecting a starry sky.
After the Divorce
Grazia Deledda
The earth is so very fair, all pranked with "smalle flowres" and green leaves, that the sun is grievously loth to leave her.
Red as a Rose is She
Rhoda Broughton
Women and children, not at synagogue, showed themselves at the doors, pranked in their best.
The Grandchildren of the Ghetto
Israel Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for pranked

prank

noun

a mischievous trick or joke, esp one in which something is done rather than said

Derived Formsprankish, adjective

Word Origin for prank

C16: of unknown origin

prank

verb

(tr) to dress or decorate showily or gaudily
(intr) to make an ostentatious display

Word Origin for prank

C16: from Middle Dutch pronken; related to German Prunk splendour, prangen to be in full splendour

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pranked

prank

"a ludicrous trick" [Johnson], 1520s, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to obsolete verb prank "decorate, dress up" (mid-15c.), related to Middle Low German prank "display" (cf. also Dutch pronken, German prunken "to make a show, to strut"). The verb in the modern sense also is from 1520s. Related: Pranked; pranking.