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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Former keepers who visited on May 13 said the 2-year-old has bonded with surrogate mother Fredrika and developed a playful, mischievous personality.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 June 2026
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Travis came up with the playful name, which was inspired by the city's cold winters.—
Jori Parys,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elfish. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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