playfully

adverb

as in friskily

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of playfully Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel, who had been on the Team USA coaching staff when Crow-Armstrong played in the World Baseball Classic, playfully gave him a hard time about not being in center field for every game. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026 Social media users have been trying the combination by dipping their burgers into the popular soda, prompting commenters to playfully push back against the viral concoction. — Saleen Martin, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2026 The colored Post-It notes on Josée’s wall counted down the days left, a playfully moribund teacher’s calendar. — Sai Rajagopal, STAT, 4 Aug. 2026 Teams LeBron spurned, including the Heat and Timberwolves, have seen players like Bam Adebayo and Anthony Edwards playfully vow to challenge him. — Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 At one point, Pataky playfully shoved her husband into a waterfall. — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026 Jason Sudeikis playfully shields daughter Daisy Josephine and son Otis Alexander from the beaming Los Angeles sun while at the Ted Lasso season 4 premiere on July 27. — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026 Some sodas are playfully topped with cotton candy, like the cotton candy cloud ($10), a lurid blue drink made with Starry lemon-lime soda with vanilla and blue raspberry syrups and cream. — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 21 July 2026 Ranch appeared to take the World Cup by storm, at one point even drawing a response from the TSA, which playfully warned fans about bringing bottles out of the country. — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 19 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playfully
  1. animatedly
  2. airily
  3. energetically
  4. buoyantly
  5. briskly
  6. skittishly
  7. lively
  8. crisply
Adverb
  • Threading through the film is Sienkiewicz’s own voice animatedly discussing his process and approach.
    — Rob Salkowitz, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • Alqasimi speaks animatedly about Alfred Hitchcock’s framing techniques in midcentury films like Rear Window and Rope, and the idea of withholding a complete view in order to sustain curiosity.
    — Mona Basharat, Architectural Digest, 25 June 2026
Definition of animatedly
Adverb
  • Still, while these surfaces are clearly meant to reflect deeper emotional and cultural truths, Coppola’s mining of them is done glancingly, airily.
    — Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2026
Definition of airily
Adverb
  • Plenty of his peers filled the void, none more energetically than Chesney, who has by now built a beachy brand that almost rivals Buffett’s.
    — Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 19 July 2026
  • There was also a large contingent of Iranian fans who energetically waved the nation’s current flag.
    — Todd Harmonson, Oc Register, 16 June 2026
Definition of energetically
Adverb
  • The song's interplay between choir and orchestra is buoyantly euphoric, opening a door to bolder, more intentionally progressive and soulful sounds in the country's mainstream.
    — Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 May 2025
Definition of buoyantly
Adverb
  • Nardulli raised his hand to his forehead, then saw Faragna heading toward him briskly, unconcerned with the sand getting into his dress shoes.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The neon lights began to move about briskly, like gleaming whirligig beetles, and the lights on the advertising tower closest to the stadium flickered across the Squirrel-brand margarine ad.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of briskly
Adverb
  • The horse, not sensing any guidance on its ribcage, begins to move skittishly in tight, concentric circles.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026
  • While skittishly edited, the film nevertheless builds up Faithfull’s biography in basic chronological order.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
Definition of skittishly
Adverb
  • The peach came through clearly, though ginger kept the drink lively enough for another sip.
    — Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • Order a bottle of César wine – a lively dry white produced for the sister hotel in Lanzarote and only available through this collection of hotels.
    — Jonathan Samuels, TheWeek, 17 July 2026
Definition of lively
Adverb
  • The Aston, on the other hand, dutifully and crisply responds to inputs.
    — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 23 July 2026
  • Sometimes the footage is blurred, as if Zidane is briefly underwater; other times it’s crisply focused.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 11 July 2026
Definition of crisply

Browse Nearby Words

playful
playfully
playfulness
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Cite this Entry

“Playfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playfully. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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