playful A2 Topic:Entertainment & Leisure US /ˈpleɪfl̩/ See IPA manual Freq #12734 Meanings 1 adj Full of fun and energy; wanting to play. The playful children just let loose from school. 2 adj Said or done in a light, joking way rather than seriously. She gave him a playful smile. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · full of fun and energy;... livelyfrisky 2 adj · said or done in a light,... humorousjesty Word family Derived forms nonplayfuloverplayfulplayfullyplayfulnessunplayful Common collocations playful squeeze Adjective + noun Etymology AI details From Middle English pleiful, equivalent to play + -ful. pleiful Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics Entertainment & Leisure External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # playful **Type:** Word **Level:** A2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈpleɪfl̩/ **Frequency rank:** 12734 ## Meanings 1. Full of fun and energy; wanting to play. 2. Said or done in a light, joking way rather than seriously. ## Examples - The playful children just let loose from school. - She gave him a playful smile. ## Derived Forms - nonplayful - overplayful - playfully - playfulness - unplayful ## Roots and Affixes - Root: pleiful ## Etymology From Middle English pleiful, equivalent to play + -ful. ## AI Etymology Playful comes from Middle English pleiful, equivalent to play + -ful. The historical chain includes pleiful (Middle English). In present-day English it covers full of fun and energy; wanting to play and said or done in a light, joking way rather than seriously. The wider family includes derived forms such as nonplayful, overplayful, playfully, playfulness, unplayful. ## Topics - Entertainment & Leisure markdown