Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Full of fun and high spirits; frolicsome or sportive: a playful kitten.
- adj. Humorous; jesting: "He meant to be conversationally playful but his voice had no tone” ( Saul Bellow).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Full of play; sportive; frolicsome: frisky: as, a playful child.
- Showing a sportive fancy or sprightly humor; pleasantly jocular: as, a playful remark; a playful style; playful attentions.
Wiktionary
- adj. liking play, prone to play frequently, such as a child or kitten; rather sportive.
- adj. funny, humorous, jesting, frolicsome.
- adj. fun, recreational, not serious.
- adj. experimental.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Sportive; gamboling; frolicsome; indulging a sportive fancy; humorous; merry.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. full of fun and high spirits
Etymologies
- From Middle English pleiful, equivalent to play + -ful. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“It was hardly a match of love, but at first there were signs of a certain playful, affectionate behaviour between them.”
william hazlitt | the man of letters « poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground
“Isuppose you can take pleasant macro shots which decontextualize commonplace objects in playful and startling ways without even leaving the house.”
“SIXIXIS is a group of English designers exploring the creative possibilities of bent wood in playful products ranging from chairs to coat-hangers.”
“And I hate that at 15 there are no more hugs and kisses freely given, unless you mask them in playful stealth.”
10 Things I Hate About Motherhood (And One That I Love) - Her Bad Mother
“Vinegar gets added to stage wine, in playful vengeance, with predictable consequences.”
“… Japan is rich enough, bored enough with national ambition, strait-jacketed enough, and gloomy enough to find immense attraction in playful escapism and quirky obsession.”
“When you mentioned playful rather than experimental I thought this sounds good – playful is much more optimistic, but I stopped reading not even halfway through to get to your commentary.”
“We had a long conversation before we figured out he was sending more content than I was receiving - where I was responding to the (null) in playful ways, and he was getting more and more confused, but he was able to tell me "things in quotes" which felt very meta, and I felt more and more like we were part of a surrealist work.”
“Others however consider the name playful and harmless or fun and funky.”
Cocky Chavez Launches Low Cost Phone Derived From Penis | Impact Lab
“Here, in playful effigy on the second floor landing of the Covent Garden Market, were the "Black Hearts of Bali".”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘playful’.
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Fauvism
Words to describe art of the fauvist movement
wild, beast, color, fauve, fauvism, fauvist, avant garde, floating, violent, outrageous, radical, dynamite and 82 more...
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Rococo
Words that describe the decadent Rococo art of the early 18th Century
Baroque, hedonistic, sensuality, pretty, elaborate, flirtation, chauvinistic, cupid, decorative, playful, vibrant, exuberant and 31 more...
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intueri's Words
inveigle, dolorous, archly, feckless, resplendent, concatenation, peripatetic, delightful, cookie, fey, ephemeral, effervescent and 347 more...
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Descriptive
The present, the future. Goals, wishes, hopes.
capricious, sericeous, sleek, flawless, charming, skilled, long-haired, versatile, beautiful, witty, fair, thin and 145 more...
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Apples to Apples: Green Cards
A complete list of the green cards (adjectives) from the popular word game.
absurd, addictive, adorable, aged, American, ancient, animated, annoying, appetizing, arrogant, awesome, awkward and 237 more...
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feeling words
twitterpated, loquacious, ambiguous, pensive, sluggish, anxious, adventurous, curious, abandoned, absent-minded, abrasive, abused and 653 more...
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Tuesday words
just the next words that come along
nasality, transignification, lapsarian, disciple, slanguage, atwitter, avast, ahoy, asleep, awake, hymnody, glissade and 573 more...
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Some Words I Love to Use
arcology, strumpet, crux, confected, pedant, bluestocking, cogitation, incensed, lovecraftian, cygnet, dactyl, adytum and 539 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Rocketeer's Words
defenestrate, shutterbug, antique, periscope, dogma, peculiar, eccentric, banana, apple, pear, cherry, photograph and 189 more...
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punnything's Words
existentialist, configure, numismatist, autumnal, desist, ennui, taciturn, vacillate, naivete, bloodletting, tete-a-tete, concentric and 274 more...
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eye-ful(l)
eyeful, I-ful, i beamful, eifel
reckful, soulful, awful, aweful, presentful, nowful, mindful, zestful, apful, fruitful, tankful, thankful and 62 more...
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girly
handkerchief, pony tail, tantrum, temper, make up, threading, waxing, hand bags, glitter, manicured nails, pink, dreamy and 6 more...
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Things I Love About You
outgoing, intelligent, loyal, humorous, energetic, leader, playful, confident, extroverted, moral, hospitable, educated and 16 more...
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Identify the Wordienik!!
Well, wrap me in a looroll and call me Mummy!
‘tis the time for ‘ID the ‘nik!’
To quote bilby, who organised it last time round:
“Many thanks to the wondrous efforts of uselessnes...wodge, tear-resistant, systematic, slopseller, sinistral, queasy, protean, prodigal, present, playful, panda, od and 18 more...
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adjectives
perfect, hirsute, attractive, pulchritudinous, synchronic, familiar, mellow, stark, articulate, tangible, elusive, fierce and 39 more...
Tweets
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