as in playful
given to good-natured joking or teasing
an elfish comedian who often played lovable drunks and wisecracking sidekicks
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Recent Examples of elfish
Santa’s elves are generous souls, not elfish.
—
Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Dec. 2025
But showing a recent visitor his awards, Shannon, who at 75 has a shock of snowy hair and an elfish grin, seemed almost embarrassed.
—John Horgan, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Apr. 2016
Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Dec. 2025
But showing a recent visitor his awards, Shannon, who at 75 has a shock of snowy hair and an elfish grin, seemed almost embarrassed.
—John Horgan, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Apr. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elfish
playful
Adjective
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Sawgrass Mills is playful and even a little zany, so that amid all those bargain outlet stores, there’s a sense of adventure.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
23 Feb. 2026
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Parker and his team wanted a sense of heart conveyed through the playful, tuneful, unpolished score.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elfish. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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