Playful

//ˈpleɪfl̩// adj

adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    liking play, prone to play frequently, such as a child or kitten; rather sportive.

    "Actually, we are pretty playful in our romantic life."

  2. 2
    funny, humorous, jesting, frolicsome, frisky.

    "John is a playful fellow."

  3. 3
    fun, recreational, not serious.

    "A brainteaser is a playful puzzle posed as a test of intelligence."

  4. 4
    experimental.

    "He was a rather playful artist."

Adjective
  1. 1
    full of fun and high spirits wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
devilishelfishfrolicsomejocundkittenishpixilated

Example

More examples

"The dolphin is an intelligent and playful creature."

Etymology

From Middle English pleiful, equivalent to play + -ful.

Related phrases

playful as a kitten

More for "playful"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.