sprightly
Americanadjective
adverb
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sprightly
Explanation
To be sprightly is to be full of youthful, vibrant energy. You don’t have to be young to be sprightly, though, energetic old people can be sprightly, too. Weeeeeee! The word sprightly comes from the word sprite, which is a small, elf-like fairy creature. If someone acts like a happy little fairy, has a lot of enthusiasm, and acts in a youthful way, she’s sprightly. To be sprightly is to be full of spirit and vitality, to be happy, and to have a positive attitude. Someone who radiates energy and positivity is sprightly.
Vocabulary lists containing sprightly
Things Fall Apart
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Smiley Face: Synonyms for "Happy"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Stargirl
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Taking a cue from nickelodeon piano players, composer John Powell steers the mood with a vibrantly eclectic score of sprightly ragtime, violin pathos and popcorn crescendos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Another of his horses was named in the Guinness Book of Records for the fastest 10-metre dash while on hind legs -- a sprightly 4.19 seconds.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
The music is danceable, the editing is sprightly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
From the outside, it's just a public leisure centre on the edge of town, with sprightly pensioners staying flexible in aerobics classes and excitable kids in for swimming lessons.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
Little Hamlet is a sprightly child with his father’s dark hair and Gertrude’s gray eyes.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
In all-wheel-drive form, the RDX is a bit sprightlier around corners than the GV70.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2022
It begins with “The 1,” a stoic look back at a fizzled romance, which moves at a lope, nudged along by ringing piano chords and one of the album’s sprightlier beats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2020
Crews has also utilised his linebacker physique in more visceral projects, including playing one of the sprightlier members of Sylvester Stallone’s OAP action ensemble The Expendables.
From The Guardian ● May 22, 2018
At fifty-two, she is sprightlier than her more serious work suggests, a quality that helps earn the trust of her subjects, whether in Africa or in coal country.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 20, 2017
Miss Whitlaw seemed to lose ten years and become sprightlier.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
And the rhythmic and harmonic quirkiness of the two Contredanses made the sprightliest movements in the Bach, Handel and Muffat works sound staid.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2011
It is a fair sample of the unvarnished style and the deadpan humor that mark the weekly Lancet as the sprightliest and most outspoken voice in medical journalism.
From Time Magazine Archive
They appear on the labels of some of the most intrepid clothes around, and they belong to two of the sprightliest newcomers anywhere on the fashion map.
From Time Magazine Archive
The whole show pokes fun at auto-mania, is one of the sprightliest in the transportation area.
From Time Magazine Archive
On the contrary, she revealed the sprightliest interest in the coming nuptials.
From West Wind Drift by McCutcheon, George Barr
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.
