as in brave
informal
having or showing a lot of courage or determination
A plucky young man who never gave up on his dream.
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Recent Examples of plucky
Buoyed by solving a seemingly impossible case, the plucky department is ready to get to work on what’s next.
—
Barry Levitt, Time, 29 May 2025
Instead, the audience watches a full day in the life of the salon, which is run by Jaja’s plucky teenage daughter, Marie, a high school valedictorian who lacks the birth certificate to qualify for college student loans.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2025
The Cubs, led by first-year coach Tyler Arko, have only two seniors on the roster and may not be the plucky underdogs next season.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 20 May 2025
Santa Juana makes for an appealingly plucky heroine, and Richard Harmon has some very funny moments as one of Stefani’s snarky cousins.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for plucky
Barry Levitt, Time, 29 May 2025
Instead, the audience watches a full day in the life of the salon, which is run by Jaja’s plucky teenage daughter, Marie, a high school valedictorian who lacks the birth certificate to qualify for college student loans.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2025
The Cubs, led by first-year coach Tyler Arko, have only two seniors on the roster and may not be the plucky underdogs next season.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 20 May 2025
Santa Juana makes for an appealingly plucky heroine, and Richard Harmon has some very funny moments as one of Stefani’s snarky cousins.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for plucky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plucky
Adjective
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Sure enough, the seemingly eternally brave Achilles was killed by an arrow to his heel during the Trojan War.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2025
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Bloom’s bravest moment of June 16, 1904, comes a few pages later: —Mendelssohn was a jew and Karl Marx and Mercadante and Spinoza.—
Benjamin Hale
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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The event series is based on The Old Testament’s Book of Genesis and told through the eyes of the courageous and passionate yet flawed women whose descendants would shape three of the world’s great faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
27 June 2025
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Occasionally we are confronted with stories, like the founding of Knox College [established in 1837 by abolitionists committed to educating women and people of color] , where some person or some group of people chose the unpopular, but morally courageous path.—
Hanna Hart,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Plum’s absence was sorely felt as what began as a valiant effort by the Sparks — keeping pace with the visiting Storm through the first half — quickly unraveled into a 98-67 blowout loss Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.—
Houston Mitchell,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2025
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Our brave and valiant forces delivered a resounding response, bringing the enemy to its knees.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 May 2025
Adjective
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Great leaders are not fearless beings who stoically snub their noses at terror.—
Chip Bell,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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Fleet-footed, fearless and forward-thinking, 20-year-old Yildiz is a box of tricks.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Ter Stegen is determined to stay at Barca, where he is settled on a personal level and ready to challenge for the No 1 spot.—
Pol Ballús,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
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Set in the working-class outskirts of L.A., Lolita follows Jesús (Alexis Vazquez), an openly gay man recently released from prison after serving a nine-year sentence for a nonviolent drug offense, who is determined to reclaim his life and reunite with his daughter.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Fiennes exhibits that side of him without apology, which only makes his gallant side feel all the more genuine.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
12 June 2025
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Each year, Scouts, Scouters, veterans and other community groups from all over the Bay Area gather in tribute to these gallant men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country.—
Karl Mondon,
Mercury News,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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Like most political arguments, each stakeholder adopts a resolute adversarial position that disallows finding common ground.—
Harvey Levine,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 June 2025
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In statements reported by state media on Sunday, China’s top political adviser Wang Huning echoed Beijing’s position, calling for the promotion of national reunification with Taiwan and for resolute opposition to Taiwan independence.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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Propelled by a heroic performance by Matt Panttila (four goals), the Clippers rolled to an 11-6 win over their biggest rivals, and were able to win their third state title in four seasons.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
21 June 2025
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But military service has long been seen as anything but heroic.—
Will Ripley,
CNN Money,
21 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plucky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plucky. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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