playful

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word playful. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word playful, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say playful in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word playful you have here. The definition of the word playful will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofplayful, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpleɪfəl/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪfəl, -eɪfʊl

Adjective

playful (comparative playfuller or more playful, superlative playfullest or most playful)

  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. funny, humorous, jesting, frolicsome.
    John is a playful fellow.
    A party hat is a playful conical hat people wear at parties.
    • 1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 593:
      Why this already very fast train should be speeded up still further, when none of the other more easily timed S.R. West of England trains has a single minute pared from its schedule, is unexplained - unless this is a playful dig at the Western Region, most of whose expresses, by reason of additional stops, will be decelerated from the same date.
  3. fun, recreational, not serious.
    A brainteaser is a playful puzzle posed as a test of intelligence.
  4. experimental.
    He was a rather playful artist.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia