playful

adjective

play·​ful ˈplā-fəl How to pronounce playful (audio)
1
: full of play : frolicsome, sportive
a playful kitten
2
playfully adverb
playfulness noun

Examples of playful in a Sentence

She's an old dog, but she's still very playful. He had a playful expression on his face. a playful tone of voice You're certainly in a playful mood! She gave him a light playful slap on the knee.
Recent Examples on the Web Image Much of their furniture is similarly playful. Travis Diehl Dean Kaufman, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Alice starts playing games with Chauncey that begin playful and become increasingly sinister. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 10 Mar. 2024 This playful romp, complete with chirpy hiccups, was sniffed at as crass and materialistic by critics waiting for another reason to resist Madonna's mania in 1984. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 10 Mar. 2024 The movie is a playful reimagining of the original, with Gyllenhaal as Elwood Dalton, a former MMA fighter haunted by memories of an incident during a fight. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024 Culpo addressed the team’s loss by making a playful TikTok with the ladies on the trip. Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024 Recommended for babies 6 months old and up, the activity cube teaches children letters, colors, and shapes through more than 20 playful songs. Maya Polton, Parents, 8 Mar. 2024 Mela Rogue, a playful spin on the film Moulin Rouge. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024 The title, Eat the Music, is meant to be a playful nod to ‘If music be the food of love, play on,’ from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'playful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of playful was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near playful

Cite this Entry

“Playful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playful. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

playful

adjective
play·​ful ˈplā-fəl How to pronounce playful (audio)
1
: full of play : fond of playing
a playful kitten
2
: humorous
a playful tone of voice
playfully adverb
playfulness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on playful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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