Sprightly

Sprightly
Sprightly Spright"ly (-l[y^]), a. [Compar. {Sprightlier} (-l[i^]*[~e]r); superl. {Sprightliest}.] [See {Sprite}.] Sprightlike, or spiritlike; lively; brisk; animated; vigorous; airy; gay; as, a sprightly youth; a sprightly air; a sprightly dance. ``Sprightly wit and love inspires.'' --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

The sprightly Sylvia trips along the green. --Pope. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • sprightly — [sprīt′lē] adj. sprightlier, sprightliest [< spright, var. of SPRITE + LY1] full of energy and spirit; lively, brisk, etc. adv. sprightlier, sprightliest in a sprightly manner SYN. AGILE …   English World dictionary

  • sprightly — index alert (agile), jocular, resilient, volatile Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • sprightly — 1590s, from spright, early 16c. variant of SPRITE (Cf. sprite), + LY (Cf. ly) (1) …   Etymology dictionary

  • sprightly — *lively, animated, vivacious, gay Analogous words: *active, live, dynamic: *agile, nimble, brisk, spry: *merry, blithe, jocund …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • sprightly — [adj] fun, vivacious active, agile, airy, alert, animate, animated, blithe, bouncy, breezy, bright, brisk, cheerful, cheery, chipper, chirpy, clever, dapper, dashing, energetic, fairylike, frolicsome, gay, good, grooving, hyper, jaunty, jolly,… …   New thesaurus

  • sprightly — (also spritely) ► ADJECTIVE (sprightlier, sprightliest) ▪ (especially of an old person) lively; energetic. DERIVATIVES sprightliness noun. ORIGIN from spright, a rare variant of SPRITE(Cf. ↑sprite) …   English terms dictionary

  • sprightly — UK [ˈspraɪtlɪ] / US adjective Word forms sprightly : adjective sprightly comparative sprightlier superlative sprightliest a) a sprightly person is healthy and has a lot of energy b) used about things that are done with a lot of energy sprightly… …   English dictionary

  • sprightly — adjective (sprightlier; est) Etymology: obsolete spright (sprite), alteration of sprite Date: 1596 1. marked by a gay lightness and vivacity ; spirited < a sprightly musical > 2. having a distinctively piquant taste ; zesty …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • sprightly — spright|ly [ spraıtli ] adjective a sprightly person is healthy and has a lot of energy a. used about things that are done with a lot of energy: sprightly enthusiasm …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • sprightly — [[t]spra͟ɪtli[/t]] sprightlier, sprightliest ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n A sprightly person, especially an old person, is lively and active. ...the sprightly 85 year old President. Syn: spry …   English dictionary

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