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 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
Trendy, vapid Chazelle sentimentalized a token Mexican immigrant in Babylon, but Jordan and waggish co-screenwriter William Monahan, who scripted Scorsese’s The Departed, plays with ethnicity (those Irish mugs, Lange’s perfect brogue, and Cumming’s perfect Southern twang).
—Armond White, National Review, 17 Feb. 2023
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
Trendy, vapid Chazelle sentimentalized a token Mexican immigrant in Babylon, but Jordan and waggish co-screenwriter William Monahan, who scripted Scorsese’s The Departed, plays with ethnicity (those Irish mugs, Lange’s perfect brogue, and Cumming’s perfect Southern twang).
—Armond White, National Review, 17 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waggish
Adjective
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Within your 3rd House of Local Community, mischievous Mercury combines with dark Pluto, turning conversations into truth-seeking moments that clarify trust and tighten details.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
22 Jan. 2026
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In House of the Dragon’s season 2 premiere, Aegon II brought him to a meeting where Jaehaerys II was mischievous and bored.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s next step Lekkerimäki electrified the Rogers Arena crowd on Saturday night with a wicked catch-and-release goal from the high slot to open the scoring against Toronto.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
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As Traitors host and executive producer, Cumming is diabolical, but there’s no sleep for the wicked.—
Jonathan Borge,
InStyle,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Think pét-nat’s playful fizz, fancy kombucha in a wine bottle, zero-proof sparklers, including Elton John’s new bubbly.—
Lanee Lee,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Bags This playful, socially minded brand from Spain was created four years ago by Paloma Hernández Tamame, and creates colorful, customizable handbags with decor using children’s construction blocks.—
Alex Wynne,
Footwear News,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waggish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waggish. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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