play·ful

(plā′fəl)

adj.

1. Full of fun and high spirits; frolicsome or sportive: a playful kitten.

2. Humorous; jesting: "He meant to be conversationally playful but his voice had no tone" (Saul Bellow).

play′ful·ly adv.

play′ful·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	playfulness - a festive merry feeling gaiety levity - feeling an inappropriate lack of seriousness
	2.	playfulness - a disposition to find (or make) causes for amusement; "her playfulness surprised me"; "he was fun to be with" fun frivolity, frivolousness - the trait of being frivolous; not serious or sensible facetiousness - playful humor archness, pertness, sauciness, perkiness, impertinence - inappropriate playfulness friskiness, frolicsomeness, sportiveness - lively high-spirited playfulness impishness, puckishness, whimsicality, mischievousness - the trait of behaving like an imp sense of humor, sense of humour, humor, humour - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor"
	3.	playfulness - activities that are enjoyable or amusing; "I do it for the fun of it"; "he is fun to have around" fun, merriment diversion, recreation - an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates; "scuba diving is provided as a diversion for tourists"; "for recreation he wrote poetry and solved crossword puzzles"; "drug abuse is often regarded as a form of recreation"

playfulness

noun

The state of being full of high-spirited fun:

friskiness, frolicsomeness, sportiveness, waggishness.

Translations

مُزاح، مُداعَبَه

hravosthumornost

munterhed

Verspieltheit

badinage

gamansemi

lekelyst

hravosť

şakacılık

十分有趣的好玩的幽默

playfulness

[ˈpleɪfʊlnɪs] N [of person] → carácter m juguetón; [of mood] → alegría f; [of remark] → guasa f, tono m guasón

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

playfulness

[ˈpleɪf^ʊlnɪs] n [film, music, design] → aspect m ludique
natural playfulness [child, animal] → caractère naturellement joueur

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

playfulness

n (of child, animal) → Verspieltheit f; (of adult) → Ausgelassenheit f, → Lustigkeit f; there was a touch of playfulness in his manner as he replied → in der Art, wie er antwortete, lag etwas leicht Neckisches or Schelmisches

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

playfulness

[ˈpleɪfʊlnɪs] n (of child, puppy) → carattere m giocoso; (of remark, mood, smile) → scherzosità

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

play

(plei) verb

1. to amuse oneself. The child is playing in the garden; He is playing with his toys; The little girl wants to play with her friends.

2. to take part in (games etc). He plays football; He is playing in goal; Here's a pack of cards – who wants to play (with me)?; I'm playing golf with him this evening.

3. to act in a play etc; to act (a character). She's playing Lady Macbeth; The company is playing in London this week.

4. (of a play etc) to be performed. `Oklahoma' is playing at the local theatre.

5. to (be able to) perform on (a musical instrument). She plays the piano; Who was playing the piano this morning?; He plays (the oboe) in an orchestra.

6. (usually with on) to carry out or do (a trick). He played a trick on me.

7. (usually with at) to compete against (someone) in a game etc. I'll play you at tennis.

8. (of light) to pass with a flickering movement. The firelight played across the ceiling.

9. to direct (over or towards something). The firemen played their hoses over the burning house.

10. to put down or produce (a playing-card) as part of a card game. He played the seven of hearts.

noun

1. recreation; amusement. A person must have time for both work and play.

2. an acted story; a drama. Shakespeare wrote many great plays.

3. the playing of a game. At the start of today's play, England was leading India by fifteen runs.

4. freedom of movement (eg in part of a machine).

ˈplayer noun

ˈplayable adjective

(negative unplayable) (of a ground, pitch etc) not good enough for a game to be played on it. Because of the rain the referee decided the ground was not playable.

ˈplayful adjective

1. happy; full of the desire to play. a playful kitten.

2. joking; not serious. a playful remark.

ˈplayfully adverb

ˈplayfulness noun

ˈplayboy noun

a rich man who spends his time and money on pleasure.

ˈplayground noun

an area in which children can play in a park, outside a school etc.

ˈplaying-card noun

one of a pack of cards used in card games.

ˈplaying-field noun

a field which is specially prepared and used for sport.

ˈplaymate noun

a childhood friend.

ˈplaypen noun

a small wooden structure with bars on every side in which a small child can play safely.

ˈplayschool noun

an informal nursery school.

ˈplaything noun

a toy.

ˈplaytime noun

a set time for children to play (at school etc). The children go outside at playtime.

ˈplaywright noun

a person who writes plays. He is a famous playwright.

at play

playing. children at play.

bring/come into play

to (cause to) be used or exercised. The job allowed him to bring all his talents into play.

child's play

something that is very easy. Of course you can do it – it's child's play!

in play, out of play

(of a ball) according to the rules of the game, (not) in a position where it can be hit, kicked etc.

play at

1. to pretend to be etc. The children were playing at cowboys and Indians.

2. used when asking angrily what someone is doing. What does he think he's playing at (=doing)?

play back to play (music, speech etc) on a record or tape after it has just been recorded (noun ˈplay-back)

play down

to try to make (something) appear less important. He played down the fact that he had failed the exam.

play fair

to act honestly and fairly.

play for time

to delay an action, decision etc in the hope that conditions will improve.

play havoc with

to cause a lot of damage to. The storm played havoc with the farmer's crops.

play into someone's hands

to do exactly what an opponent or enemy wants one to do.

play off (in games) to play a final deciding game after a draw (noun ˈplay-off)

play off against

to set (one person) against (another) in order to gain an advantage. He played his father off against his mother to get more pocket money.

play on

to make use of (someone's feelings, fears etc). He played on my sympathy until I lent him $10.

play a/no part in

(not) to be one of the people who are doing (something). He played no part in the robbery.

play safe

to take no risks.

play the game

to act fairly and honestly.

play up

to be troublesome or disobedient. The children are playing up today.