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 Inside Lindblom, university leaders playfully lobbied on behalf of their campuses to a group of more than a dozen participants, who fired inquiries back about courses, postgraduation job success rates, campus accessibility and culture, and more. — Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026 The vampy all-burgundy ensemble was playfully textural and was styled with burgundy tights and a bold burgundy red lip. — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 20 Sep. 2026 With a solid shade range (28 hues—playfully named after Los Angeles locales like DTLA, K-Town, and WeHo as a nod to the brand’s SoCal roots), you’re bound to find a match. — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 18 Sep. 2026 After replaying Colbert’s Emmy acceptance speech, Kimmel playfully lambasted his friend for giving a sweet paean to his wife, Evie, which made all the other late night hosts look bad with their own wives. — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026 In one photo, Pelphrey playfully cradled Cuoco's baby bump while the actress stared at him with a comically strained smile. — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026 Gary Oldman has reflected playfully on creating headlines around the world with his comments about the James Bond casting process. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2026 Brown minidresses, rompers, and capes can feel sultry with black accessories, or playfully retro with all white. — Kelsey Stiegman, Glamour, 8 Sep. 2026 In the video, Hilton’s 3-year-old son Phoenix can be seen giggling as the puppy playfully chases him around the room while 2-year-old sister London looks on. — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playfully
  1. animatedly
  2. airily
  3. energetically
  4. buoyantly
  5. briskly
  6. skittishly
  7. lively
  8. crisply
Adverb
  • Bindi, now a mother herself, posted a touching video of Steve animatedly describing her birth.
    — Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
  • By the end of our call, Michael Sheen is animatedly sharing stories of his family’s (potential) UFO sightings in south Wales.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 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
  • One remaining challenge is to make a DNA computer that is energetically favorable, stable, reliable, and doesn’t require intervening tweaks and top-ups to arrive at a result.
    — Mike McRae September 22, New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The 49ers energetically dominated in a 27-7 victory while the Rams exhaustedly despaired in front of more than 100,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a venue that hosts Australian rules football games that aren’t this ugly.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 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
  • Walk briskly, march in place, pedal a stationary bike or perform low-impact jumping jacks.
    — Dana Santas, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The animal was far from sprinting, instead taking a relaxed stroll at a speed surprisingly comparable to a human walking briskly to catch a bus.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 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
  • Fresh dill both in the filling and on top adds herbaceous notes that keep every bite lively.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The Windjammer The Windjammer is part restaurant, part legendary live-music venue, with a buzzy beachfront setting that keeps things lively well beyond dinner.
    — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of lively
Adverb
  • Perhaps like one’s heart crisply split in two, spilling its squelched juices, like the baobab fruit broken open by the stylish monkey in The Lion King, my favorite vintage cartoon.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • This crisply cropped jacket from Theory is polished enough to wear to the office with suiting.
    — Alison Syrett Cleary, InStyle, 18 Sep. 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 3 Oct. 2026.

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