playful
adj/ˈpleɪfl̩/
Etymology From Middle English pleiful, equivalent to play + -ful.
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.
2
Funny; humorous; jesty; frolicsome; frisky.
- John is a playful fellow.
- A party hat is a playful conical hat people wear at parties.
1 more example
- 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.1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 593:
3
Fun; recreational; unserious.
- A brainteaser is a playful puzzle posed as a test of intelligence.
4
Experimental.
- He was a rather playful artist.
- Derived terms
- nonplayful, overplayful, playful as a kitten, playfully, playfulness, unplayful