Synonyms for playful
- adjective
Most common
mischievous whimsical frisky impish vivacious rollicking sportive jocular
All synonyms
Adjective
frisky, whimsical, mischievous, impish, lively, rollicking, vivacious, jocular, sportive, sprightly, mirthful, hilarious, teasing, devilish, roguish, jolly, pixilated, merry, arch, facetious, elfin, gay, elvish, frolicsome, jocund, kittenish, coltish, prankish, gamesome, elfish, cheerful, spirited, humorous, humourous UK, jovial, gleeful, blithe, zippy informal, wicked, wanton, hearty, puckish, zestful, waggish, jocose formal
Definitions
- adj. 1
Enjoying play; sportive; prone to playing frequently, in the manner of a child or young pet (viz. puppy or kitten).
Actually, we are pretty playful in our romantic life.
Related words
- Word family
- playfully playfulness
Example sentences
- mischievous The mischievous little boy loved his dad very much.
- whimsical He never lost his whimsical longing for adventure.
- frisky Kittens are infinitely frisky.
- impish That impish man over there is my ex-husband.
- vivacious Mary was very vivacious and easy to talk to.
- rollicking Mary's giving Tom a rollicking.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| playful | rising | |
| mischievous | rising | |
| whimsical | rising | |
| frisky | rising | |
| impish | rising | |
| vivacious | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- gay1
- 4 letters
- arch1
- 5 letters
- merry2, jolly2, zippy2, elfin2
- 6 letters
- wicked2, lively2, hearty2, wanton2, frisky2, jovial3, blithe1, elvish, impish2, elfish2, jocund, jocose2
- 7 letters
- teasing2, gleeful2, jocular3, roguish, puckish2, zestful2, coltish, waggish
- 8 letters
- cheerful2, humorous3, spirited3, devilish2, sportive, mirthful, prankish, gamesome
- 9 letters
- hilarious4, whimsical3, vivacious3, sprightly2, facetious3, humourous, pixilated, kittenish
- 10 letters
- rollicking3, frolicsome
- 11 letters
- mischievous3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (merry2 = 2 syllables).