Synonyms of sportive

sportive

adjective

ˈspȯr-tiv 

as in playful

given to good-natured joking or teasing

a sportive pastor who began every sermon with a joke

Synonyms & Similar Words

• playful
• merry
• amusing
• lively
• entertaining
• sportful
• mischievous
• energetic
• antic
• frolicsome
• goofy
• frisky
• rollicking
• happy
• enjoyable
• delightful
• elfish
• larky
• coltish
• fun
• pleasing
• silly
• gay
• spirited
• whimsical
• lighthearted
• fay
• pleasant
• joking
• sprightly
• vivacious
• coy
• impish
• frolic
• spunky
• roguish
• pleasurable
• pixie
• frivolous
• jocund
• kittenish
• teasing
• devilish
• knavish
• jocose
• jocular
• trifling
• rascally
• pixy
• prankish
• diverting
• jesting
• dabbling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• earnest
• sober
• serious
• responsible
• dutiful
• solemn
• sombre
• stern
• serious-minded
• somber
• grim
• stolid
• grave
• proper
• formal
• decorous
• sobersided
• priggish
• sedate
• staid
• stuffy
• starchy
• restrained
• no-nonsense
• inhibited
• guarded

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sportive

That was true even in extremely endangered ones such as the northern sportive lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis) of which only 40 are known to exist, all within 12 square kilometers of Madagascar. —Byelizabeth Pennisi, science.org, 1 June 2023

Revel, too, in more sportive jaunts, such as volcano hiking, horseback-riding, zip-lining, rappelling down waterfalls, fishing and white-water river rafting. —Laura Manske, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023

The rarest is the Sahafary sportive lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis), found in a tiny area in northern Madagascar. —Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 16 Nov. 2020

The remaining lineage split into the sportive lemurs (Lepilemuridae), and the dwarf and mouse lemurs (Cheirogaleidae; right). —Discover Magazine, 17 Mar. 2011