PUCKISH Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

puckish

adjective

ˈpə-kish

Definition of puckish

as in mischievous

tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness he takes a puckish delight in teasing her about her love life, or lack thereof

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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 puckish The book forfeits the puckish immediacy of Bush’s Instagram dispatches for more earnest, effortful prose. — Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026 Throughout it all, he's maintained a puckish, playful approach. — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026 Her politics grew out of puckish sass—a need to trouble the authority of her conservative parents—as much as out of an essential righteousness. — Literary Hub, 4 Dec. 2025 And chuckled with Spicy, Austin’s own puckish cartoonist. — Steve Sewall, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for puckish

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puckish

Adjective

The suit attempted to relitigate the eligibility of a mischievous independent Senate candidate who shares the same first and last name as the Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2026
Her dancers contort and gyrate not only to music but to the mischievous natter of recorded dialogue, to the sound of wind and the hiss and lurch of a train.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of mischievous

Adjective

Mischa Glooshkoff, aka Michael Graves, has light brown curls, a wicked grin, and a wiry frame—perfect casting for the grand boulevardier who would lead my naïve young father astray.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
There’s also the problem of Angelique’s wicked stepmother, Argan’s gold-digging second wife, Beline.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of wicked

Adjective

Brooklinen and Boll & Branch have breathable everyday essentials covered, while Nickey Kehoe brings a more playful approach to bedding with colorful patterns and unexpected designs.

— Jacorey Moon, Architectural Digest, 7 Nov. 2026
This transition from outside to inside, from past to future, is a perfectly playful introduction to The Shinmonzen, which is skilled at balancing a lightness of touch with a seriously luxurious hotel experience.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of playful

Adjective

The catastrophies that our heroine averts are awfully small potatoes — a bulldozer running amok, an amusement park ride speeding out of control, some prankish teenagers scheming to turn the girl’s shower into a steambath.

— Arthur Knight, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026
Angela Balogh Calin’s costumes prepare the way for Ionesco’s prankish jokes.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026

Definition of prankish

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puckery

puckish

pucks

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“Puckish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puckish. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of puckish

adjective

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