1
as in fiery
marked by a lively display of strong feeling
the town meeting featured a spirited debate about the proposed ban on skateboarding in the plaza downtown
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lively
having much high-spirited energy and movement
a team known for its spirited and in-your-face basketball
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spirited
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 May 2026
Hawkers hitched boxes higher and nudged each other to behold the spirited pregnant woman.
—‘pemi Aguda, Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
But Snelling’s recent dominance has made that topic a spirited discussion inside the team’s front office.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 May 2026
Spirit Airlines was known for some spirited interactions involving passengers over the years, but some longtime customers are painting a different portrait of the ultra-low cost carrier following its shuttering over the weekend.
—Eve Chen, USA Today, 3 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spirited
Adjective
Middle of Nowhere is a spirited, if depressed, reaffirmation of Musgraves’s foundations.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 May 2026
Hawkers hitched boxes higher and nudged each other to behold the spirited pregnant woman.
—‘pemi Aguda, Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
But Snelling’s recent dominance has made that topic a spirited discussion inside the team’s front office.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 May 2026
Spirit Airlines was known for some spirited interactions involving passengers over the years, but some longtime customers are painting a different portrait of the ultra-low cost carrier following its shuttering over the weekend.
—Eve Chen, USA Today, 3 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spirited
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spirited
Adjective
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And that fiery, vibrant red that fades after mere weeks?—
Loren Savini,
Allure,
14 May 2026
-
The fiery collision was one of America’s deadliest drunken driving crashes on record.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
Frying is an art, perhaps plied nowhere with such efficiency and aplomb as at this lively lunch counter, where the very air seems to crackle and the scent of pork incites the blood.—
Ligaya Mishan,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
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Lochte, 41, was one of the faces of swimming during the heights of his career, with major sponsorships, endorsements and appearances on TV shows displaying his lively personality.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
11 May 2026
Verb
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Another lesson to be learned from Iran is that wars at this level, involving a great power and a lower-tier one, can’t always be tidy operations that end when a president is snatched by special forces in the middle of the night.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
10 May 2026
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Police said the teens broke a glass window, and the suspect snatched $300 from the kiosk’s operator.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2026
Adjective
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Louisiana fans are passionate and have built a dynamic community.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
-
The tone of his voice grows more passionate.—
Chris Smith,
Vanity Fair,
11 May 2026
Adjective
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Hsu’s character Kristen is an energetic surfer, who finds joy and freedom in the ocean.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
11 May 2026
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The central region of Messier 77 is dominated by an extremely compact and energetic source that outshines the rest of the galaxy combined, even challenging the sensitivity of the James Webb Space Telescope itself.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
Verb
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No candidate has polled higher than 20-some percent — a testament to how many are in the running, but also an indication that none of them has truly captured the zeitgeist of today’s California.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
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Any natural satellites of Psyche could’ve been ejected from the body by ancient impacts—or might’ve even been captured from deep space by chance encounters as the asteroid drifted through the solar system.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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Stressing the omnipresent influence of the Portuguese colonizers, chorizo cooks with red kidney beans and black-eyed peas in a spunky chile-vinegar tomato sauce in a Goan adaptation of Brazilian feijoada.—
Scott Hocker,
TheWeek,
11 May 2026
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The Boroughs follows a group of spunky people living in an upscale retirement community.—
Madeleine Janz,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Diesel, Moritz and Morgan also executive produce an animated Fast & Furious series set at Netflix from DreamWorks Animation.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
11 May 2026
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Lion Forge Entertainment develops and produces animated and live-action content targeting kids and family, YA and adult audiences.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spirited.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spirited. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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