elfish
Americanadjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- elfishly adverb
- elfishness noun
Etymology
Origin of elfish
First recorded in 1535–45; alteration of elvish
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.
He appears elfish and shy as he approaches his instrument.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2025
For example, he deleted descriptions of him as “an elfish boy” who speaks “defiantly” to Wendy and tries to be “more contemptuous than ever”.
From The Guardian • Dec. 15, 2019
He was only a couple years younger than me, but his round face, milky skin, and elfish features made him look like a teenager.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2019
Their latest exploit begins with a lost child: Maggie, a small, elfish blonde, “the type of missing kid the news media actually notices.”
From Washington Post • Oct. 12, 2017
They could not count on elfish Apparition being free from the same flaw that had taken Yaxley to Grimmauld Place on the hem of Hermione’s sleeve.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
