playful

/ˈpleɪfəl/

/ˈpleɪfəl/

Use the adjective playful to describe someone who likes to have fun and doesn't take things too seriously. A playful kindergarten teacher makes everything seem like a game, even lining up to go outside for recess.

A group of cheerful kids playing musical chairs at a birthday party can be called playful, and so can a litter of wiggly puppies. A playful joke might be mischievous, but it's meant in a silly, friendly way. This word has been around since the thirteenth century, in the sense of "full of play." The Old English root word is plegan, which means "frolic, move rapidly, make sport of, or play music."

Definitions of playful

1. adjective

   full of fun and high spirits
   “playful children just let loose from school”

   synonyms:

   coltish, frolicky, frolicsome, rollicking, sportive

   given to merry frolicking

   devilish, rascally, roguish

   playful in an appealingly bold way

   elfin, elfish, elvish

   usually good-naturedly mischievous

   arch, impish, implike, mischievous, pixilated, prankish, puckish, wicked

   naughtily or annoyingly playful

   frisky, kittenish

   playful like a lively kitten

   mocking, quizzical, teasing

   playfully vexing (especially by ridicule)

   antonyms:

   unplayful

   completely lacking in playfulness