spunky
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spunky
Explanation
A spunky person is someone who's high spirited and brave. The hero of a fairy tale is often described as spunky. It takes a spunky traveler to cheerfully find her way across a busy city without a map, and a spunky kindergartner might march bravely into school on the first day. Someone who's spunky isn't just courageous — there's an implied pep or eagerness to the word as well. The word spunky comes from the 1530's Scottish meaning of spunk, "a spark," which is rooted in the Gaelic word spong, "tinder, pith, or sponge."
Vocabulary lists containing spunky
English Words Derived from Gaelic
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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.
Don’t even get me started on Gutsy, Spunky and Frisky — the unfortunate spawn of Relatable.
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2022
Spunky and creative, her room at her dad’s home is still covered in her photos and paintings.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2021
Spunky and rebellious Becky tries to reconnect with her father during a weekend getaway at a lakefront house.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2021
One of the few prospects he liked at Global Pet Expo was Spunky Pup’s eco-friendly chew toys, made from recycled plastic bottles.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2020
I liked her, because she had curls and two rows of cunning teeth, and because she never laughed when the boys called me "Spunky Joe."
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 79, May, 1864 by Various
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.
