playful
Americanadjective
-
full of play or fun; sportive; frolicsome.
-
pleasantly humorous or jesting.
a playful remark.
adjective
-
full of high spirits and fun
a playful kitten
-
good-natured and humorous
a playful remark
Other Word Forms
- half-playful adjective
- half-playfully adverb
- half-playfulness noun
- playfully adverb
- playfulness noun
- unplayful adjective
- unplayfully adverb
Etymology
Origin of playful
First recorded in 1200–50, playful is from the Middle English word pleiful. See play, -ful
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.
Fruity martinis tap perfectly into this landscape: bright, recognizable, playful and ideal for filming.
From Salon
His writing was witty and playful, he took ideas seriously and delighted in philosophical and political argument.
From BBC
They have built their own language around scent—compliment factor, projection, signature scent—and it is playful and personal.
The fact that it was a parlor game, not pointillism, that inspired the lyric is proof of Sondheim’s credo that “playful doesn’t mean trivial any more than solemn means serious.”
His design was playful, full of color and pattern, and without right angles.
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.
