spirited

adjective

spir·​it·​ed ˈspir-ə-təd 

: full of energy, animation, or courage

a spirited discussion

spiritedly adverb

spiritedness noun

Did you know?

You may see spirited used to describe a conversation, a debate, a horse, or a campaign. And it often shows up in such words as high-spirited ("bold and energetic"), mean-spirited ("spiteful"), and public-spirited ("generous to a community"), all of which reflect the original meaning of spirit, a notion much like "soul" or "personality".

Synonyms of spirited

• fiery
• passionate
• spunky
• brisk
• fervent
• high-spirited

Examples of spirited in a Sentence

The team put up a spirited defense.

She's a very spirited young lady.

Recent Examples on the Web

Chinese photographer Theo Liu shot the high-spirited images. —Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 27 Jan. 2026

Each episode is full of kid-friendly slapstick violence and mean-spirited comedy, giving the series more in common with Looney Tunes and Tex Avery than with squeaky-clean Disney fare. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Jan. 2026

This engine provides strong performance for highway merging, overtaking, and spirited driving, while maintaining smooth and responsive handling. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 24 Jan. 2026

Sharp rhetoric, dismissive labels, and spirited remarks serve well to garner media attention, but do these qualify as a dialogue? —Anjali Chaudhry, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing spirited

• high-spirited
• low-spirited
• mean-spirited
• poor-spirited
• public-spirited

Rhymes for spirited

• dispirited

Kids Definition

spirited

adjective

spir·​it·​ed ˈspir-ət-əd 

: full of courage or energy

a spirited discussion

spiritedly adverb