as in mischievous
tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness
told the prankish lad that someone would eventually get hurt if he kept it up
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Recent Examples of prankish
Angela Balogh Calin’s costumes prepare the way for Ionesco’s prankish jokes.
—
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Caltech is a sort of nerd Valhalla, where brilliant and creative youngsters study and engage in prankish mischief.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2026
Still, at its best, Needle Guy applies Brady’s prankish energy to unsettling inversions of his inspirations.
—Colin Joyce, Pitchfork, 25 Mar. 2026
And then there’s Whitehead’s own work: erudite, prankish, experimental in a literal sense—the act of listening is sometimes the experiment.
—Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
And within the prankish world created by the production, not everyone was in on the joke.
—David Renard, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Fuchs put a prankish spin on the descending octaves that tootle above the reprise of the symphony’s solemn opening.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Caltech is a sort of nerd Valhalla, where brilliant and creative youngsters study and engage in prankish mischief.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2026
Still, at its best, Needle Guy applies Brady’s prankish energy to unsettling inversions of his inspirations.
—Colin Joyce, Pitchfork, 25 Mar. 2026
And then there’s Whitehead’s own work: erudite, prankish, experimental in a literal sense—the act of listening is sometimes the experiment.
—Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
And within the prankish world created by the production, not everyone was in on the joke.
—David Renard, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Fuchs put a prankish spin on the descending octaves that tootle above the reprise of the symphony’s solemn opening.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prankish
Adjective
-
His mustache is graying, but his eyes remain mischievous.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
On May 27, Netflix announced that Willa Dunn will take on the role of Nellie Oleson — Laura Ingalls’ mischievous, pot-stirring classmate — in the forthcoming Little House on the Prairie revival.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Jones puts an exclamation point on the music — making the audience the roadies to Lestat’s wicked showman ways.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
-
Every day brought a thousand little dramas, dropped lines and brilliant recoveries, missing props and onstage farts, the extramarital affair that Proteus and Julia had commenced, the gay actor’s wicked commentary on it, followed by bad behavior in bars.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
The first image in the exhibition announced the playful tenor of the oversize works, which often verged on the ludic despite the lack of spontaneity owing to the cumbersome Land Camera.—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Bathrooms offer floor-to-ceiling black-and-white tile and benefit from natural light, adding an unexpected touch of polish to the otherwise playful design.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prankish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prankish. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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