playfully
adverb
Simple meaning
In a lighthearted and amusing way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
playfuhleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpleɪfəli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a playful manner
“She loosened the half-hoop of diamonds on her left hand third finger and held it out to him playfully.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.
More ways to use playfully
- “She loosened the half-hoop of diamonds on her left hand third finger and held it out to him playfully.”adverb
Share your sentence
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Full of fun and high spirits.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “playfully” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.