zappy
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does zappy mean? Zappy describes someone or something that is energetic, lively, or fast moving, as in School vacations make me feel all zappy and free. You might describe someone who is acting extremely excited, sociable, or energetic as zappy. A zappy person might smile and laugh a lot and generally feels energetic or happy. A zappy dog might race around your house, jumping up and down excitedly. You could use zappy to describe objects that act like this, such as a wind-up toy. But you could also use it to describe objects that do not move. Their zappiness would come from the feelings they inspire in you. Zappy is used in this way most often to describe clothing, art, or other creative works that can appear colorful or flashy or that are meant to create a strong, positive emotion in you. Example: You could tell the kids had a good time at the birthday party by how zappy they were.
Etymology
Origin of zappy
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.
As replete with zappy flashbacks as an Alain Resnais production, “Top of the Heap” is stabilized by its fiercely alienated central performance.
From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2022
Dodge creates highly kinetic, collagelike compositions enlivened by zappy color and a huge variety of paint-applying techniques.
From Seattle Times • May 18, 2017
Another is Jean-Michel Basquiat, 24, much hyped as a sort of art-world Eddie Murphy and hence especially popular with Los Angeles collectors, his untutored and zappy scrawls routinely praised for their "energy."
From Time Magazine Archive
It’s a happy, zappy song, full of chuckles and chortles.
From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson
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.
