playful

English

Alternative forms

playfull (archaic)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈpleɪfəl/
Rhymes: -eɪfəl, -eɪfʊl
Rhymes: -eɪfʊl

Adjective

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

liking play, prone to play frequently, such as a child or kitten; rather sportive.
Actually, we are pretty playful in our romantic life.
funny, humorous, jesting, frolicsome.
John is a playful fellow.
A party hat is a playful conical hat people wear at parties.
fun, recreational, not serious.
A brainteaser is a playful puzzle posed as a test of intelligence.
experimental.
He was a rather playful artist.

Derived terms

playfully
playfulness

Translations

liking or prone to play

Catalan: enjogassat (ca), juganer
Crimean Tatar: oynaq
Czech: hravý
Esperanto: petolema (eo)
Finnish: leikkisä (fi)
French: folâtre (fr), enjoué (fr), joueur (fr)
German: verspielt (de)
Greek: παιχνιδιάρης (el) (paichnidiáris)
Ancient: παιγνιώδης (paigniṓdēs)
Hebrew: אוהב משחקים‎ m (ohev misḥakim), משתעשע‎ m (mishta'shea), משתובב‎ m (mishtovev)
Irish: ^{(please verify)} cleasach
Italian: giocherellone, giocondo (it)
Latin: lūdibundus

Latvian: draisks, jautrs
Macedonian: и́грив (ígriv), ра́зигран (rázigran)
Maori: pukutākaro, pūtakaro
Portuguese: brincalhão (pt)
Russian: игри́вый (ru) (igrívyj)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: за̀игра̄н, ра̏зигра̄н
Roman: zàigrān (sh), rȁzigrān (sh)
Southern Altai: ойынзак (oyïnzak)
Spanish: juguetón
Swedish: lekfull (sv)
Turkish: oyuncu (tr), oyunbaz (tr)
Yiddish: שפּילעוודיק‎ (shpilevdik)

funny, humorous, jesting, frolicsome

Finnish: hauska (fi)
Hebrew: עליז‎ m (a'liz), משעשע‎ m (mesha'shea)
Irish: cleasach
Italian: divertente (it), buffo (it)
Latvian: draisks, jautrs
Macedonian: ше́говит (šégovit), па́лав (pálav)

Polish: żartobliwy (pl)
Russian: шутли́вый (ru) (šutlívyj)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ра̏зигра̄н
Roman: rȁzigrān (sh)
Spanish: divertido (es)

fun, recreational, not serious

Finnish: hauska (fi), viihdyttävä (fi)

Russian: ^{(please verify)} шу́точный (ru) (šútočnyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: ^{(please verify)} speels (nl)
German: ^{(please verify)} verspielt (de)
Irish: ^{(please verify)} ábhailleach

Italian: ^{(please verify)} scherzoso (it), ^{(please verify)} allegro (it)
Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} leken