spirited

play

adjective spir·it·ed \ ˈspir-ə-təd \

Definition of spirited

:full of energy, animation, or courage

a spirited discussion

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spiritedly

adverb

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spiritedness

noun

See spirited defined for English-language learners

See spirited defined for kids

Examples of spirited in a Sentence

The team put up a spirited defense.
She's a very spirited young lady.

Recent Examples of spirited from the Web

Steve Harvey hosts the spirited game show which airs at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Monday-Friday on WDRB.

— kirby adams, The Courier-Journal, "Watch Louisville's Ford family is on 'Family Feud' this week," 28 Aug. 2017
And women like Lauren Hutton and Ali MacGraw were defining a new wave of free-spirited, effortless American style.

— stephen mooallem, Harper's BAZAAR, "Free Love and Fashion," 18 Aug. 2017
This is the ideal week to let out your inner child and have some free-spirited nights out — where love just may find you!

— aurora tower, Cosmopolitan, "Your Horoscope for the Week of August 7," 6 Aug. 2017
Sentance, sitting between Bell and board member Dr. Yvette Richardson, D-Montgomery, sat quietly during the spirited discussion.

— trisha powell crain, AL.com, "State board of education gives superintendent low marks on evaluation," 25 July 2017
Pugh, who bears an amusing resemblance to Miley Cyrus, gives a spirited performance that doesn’t shy away from her character’s villainy.

— charles taylor, MSNBC Newsweek, "Cannes' Favorite 'Lady Macbeth' Isn't Daring, but It Might Be Racist," 17 July 2017
Medical highlights included soot and fiberglass inhalation, a nail through my foot and hammered thumbs and fingers, accompanied by a lavish amount of spirited cursing.

— tim woodward, idahostatesman, "Home improvement project got you down? Cheer up. This one was probably worse.," 14 July 2017
Maisie plays the rebellious and spirited Arya, a master at swordplay, while Sophie’s Sansa is quietly powerful and queenly.

— kara nesvig, Allure, "Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner’s Beauty Evolutions Since Game of Thones Began," 14 July 2017
Two early, high-spirited works by the great Seattle sculptor Patti Warashina and pieces by Jason Walker, Christopher David White and Cristina Córdova round out this excellent show.

— michael upchurch, The Seattle Times, "Strange critters: In July, Seattle art galleries contain menageries," 11 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spirited.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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".