puckish

adjective

ˈpə-kish How to pronounce puckish (audio)
Definition of puckishnext
as in mischievous
tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness he takes a puckish delight in teasing her about her love life, or lack thereof

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of puckish The book forfeits the puckish immediacy of Bush’s Instagram dispatches for more earnest, effortful prose. — Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026 Throughout it all, he's maintained a puckish, playful approach. — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026 Her politics grew out of puckish sass—a need to trouble the authority of her conservative parents—as much as out of an essential righteousness. — Literary Hub, 4 Dec. 2025 And chuckled with Spicy, Austin’s own puckish cartoonist. — Steve Sewall, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for puckish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puckish
  1. mischievous
  2. wicked
  3. playful
  4. impish
  5. prankish
Adjective
  • KidSuper founder Colm Dillane has always had a mischievous side.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • In practice, this mischievous presence ping-pongs between maternal lies and the wholesale impersonation of other people.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of mischievous
Adjective
  • The 19-year-old center is a powerful, high-end skater who scored eye-popping numbers in junior (62 goals in 65 games in his draft year), and has a wicked, elite release on his shot.
    — Harman Dayal, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Both family and colleagues spoke about her generosity, her friendship with every major designer on both sides of the Atlantic, her love of food, cats and fast cars, and a wicked sense of humor and strong tennis game.
    — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of wicked
Adjective
  • Johnson, who previously hosted SNL in 2015 and again in 2020, appears in a playful new promo with the five-piece Baltimore hardcore band and comedian Ben Marshall.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Major brands including BaubleBar and Crocs are putting their own spin on football fandom with playful collaborations and unexpected finds.
    — Casey DelBasso, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of playful
Adjective
  • The models in the film, meanwhile, run the spectrum from docile to diva — including Evangelista, who’s entreating the camera with an impish smile even while having a little fit backstage.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2026
  • And yet the movie’s central storyline hints at writer-director Bassam Tariq’s inclination to subvert his own brooding-antihero saga, allowing room for unpredictability and the slightest whiff of impish irreverence.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of impish
Adjective
  • The catastrophies that our heroine averts are awfully small potatoes — a bulldozer running amok, an amusement park ride speeding out of control, some prankish teenagers scheming to turn the girl’s shower into a steambath.
    — Arthur Knight, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026
  • Angela Balogh Calin’s costumes prepare the way for Ionesco’s prankish jokes.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Definition of prankish

Browse Nearby Words

puckery
puckish
pucks
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Cite this Entry

“Puckish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puckish. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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