spirited
Americanadjective
adjective
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displaying animation, vigour, or liveliness
-
(in combination) characterized by mood, temper, or disposition as specified
high-spirited
public-spirited
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of spirited
Explanation
Someone who's spirited is lively or enthusiastic. It can be challenging to babysit a bunch of spirited four-year-olds, but it's also entertaining. You can also call a spirited person energetic, animated, or spunky. Spirited people are often determined, too, like a spirited activist for animal rights or a spirited defender of free school lunches. Long ago, this adjective was also used to mean "possessed by a spirit or ghost." Today's sense of spirited comes from the original meaning of the verb spirit, "to make more active."
Vocabulary lists containing spirited
This Week in Words: March 9 - 15, 2019
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The Red Pencil
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Put on a Bold Face: Synonyms for "Brave"
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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.
Entirely hand drawn, the film was hailed as a visual masterpiece marking Miyazaki's return to the traditional animation of his early career, after incorporating computer generated images in "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle."
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
Spirited and bright, Cosm’s approach to “Wonka,” a collaboration with experiential firm Secret Cinema and visual effects house MakeMake, is to ensure audiences are never not surrounded by eye candy.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025
Get down: Spirited celebrations continued until nearly dawn.
From New York Times • Jun. 17, 2024
Spirited Away went on to become Japan's highest grossing movie of all time and held the record for 19 years.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2024
Another couple came up to the window, and judging by the baffling all-white face makeup one of them was wearing, they were probably there for the Spirited Away screening.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
