as in mischievous
tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness
a waggish disposition that often got him into trouble as a child
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Recent Examples of waggish
The show is gloriously nonsensical: a vague excuse to watch a revolving door of spotlight-hungry pussycats prancing their paws to Webber’s waggish earworms.
—
Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
The waggish jeer that subverts the Reich Chancellery, designed by Adolf Hitler's chief architect, Albert Speer, must have sent the woman who chastises children for flatulent folly into a tizzy.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
After publishing a New York Times piece about grieving her late husband, the waggish writer received an email from a kindly old acquaintance who was also recently widowed.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024
He’s left a distinctive stamp on the orchestra’s sound in the years since, whether declaiming the beginning of Mahler 5 with a preacher’s conviction or, as in a recent Ravinia concert, tossing off a ragtime solo with waggish virtuosity.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2024
Foreman’s own work was waggish, so the Off Off Broadway Wooster production is frequently tongue-in-cheek.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
The waggish jeer that subverts the Reich Chancellery, designed by Adolf Hitler's chief architect, Albert Speer, must have sent the woman who chastises children for flatulent folly into a tizzy.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
After publishing a New York Times piece about grieving her late husband, the waggish writer received an email from a kindly old acquaintance who was also recently widowed.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024
He’s left a distinctive stamp on the orchestra’s sound in the years since, whether declaiming the beginning of Mahler 5 with a preacher’s conviction or, as in a recent Ravinia concert, tossing off a ragtime solo with waggish virtuosity.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2024
Foreman’s own work was waggish, so the Off Off Broadway Wooster production is frequently tongue-in-cheek.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waggish
Adjective
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His mustache is graying, but his eyes remain mischievous.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
“Waggish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waggish. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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