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
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Smiley Face: Synonyms for "Happy"
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Stargirl
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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.
See Examples For:
The Oracle of Omaha made that remark a quarter-century ago, when he was a sprightly 71-year-old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
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
Ms. Lewin has written a sprightly account of writers’ rooms on both sides of the Atlantic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
He threw me into the greatest confusion by laughing heartily and replying in a very sprightly manner, “No, to be sure; you’re right.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Likewise, after 2024’s narratively dreary “Wicked,” returning director Jon M. Chu persuades us to come back to Oz for this smarter, sprightlier follow-up that’s all about the pageantry of propaganda.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
In all-wheel-drive form, the RDX is a bit sprightlier around corners than the GV70.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2022
For their second outing, the much sprightlier “The Devil May Dance,” he’s jumped ahead to the early 1960s and more glamorous locations.
From New York Times ● May 8, 2021
“I haven’t been home in a couple of weeks,” he says, sounding sprightlier than you might expect.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 5, 2020
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
While dramatic series have become drearier, commercials have developed into the sprightliest little plays on television.
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
Result: one of the sprightliest TV hours of the fall.
From Time Magazine Archive
On the contrary, she revealed the sprightliest interest in the coming nuptials.
From West Wind Drift by George Barr McCutcheon
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.
