Word family noun play interplay replay player playfulness adjective playful playable verb play outplay replay adverb playfully
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishplayfulplay‧ful /ˈpleɪfəl/ adjective 1 ENERGETICHAPPYvery active, happy, and wanting to have fun a playful little dog Babies are playful and alert when they first wake up.2 JOKING/NOT SERIOUSintended to be fun rather than serious, or showing that you are having fun a playful kiss on the cheek —playfully adverb —playfulness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpus
playful• The three of us worked together excellently, elated and playful.• Ballantyne snorted and looked over, his eyes a mystery yet nevertheless playful.• Rich syncopated sound, cool, playful.• The seduction of study and playful analysis must not be allowed to overshadow genuine project objectives.• His playing here is, as expected, note perfect, playful, but as elegant and swinging as ever.• She tried to sound playful but somehow the words came out the wrong way.• a playful kitten• This gives some idea of the playful nature of otters.• The Milk Board has produced a playful series of ads for milk.• He gave me a playful slap on the shoulder.• a playful smile• a playful song 