dappy

1 9.9

Feeling silly and cheerful in a light, slightly confused way

adjective
/ˈdæpi/

: tonto

The children's dappy laughter filled the playground with joy.

Examples

She's gone a little dappy.

A Foreign Affair (1948)
I thought, oh, now he's a bit dappy.

Felix Austria! (2013)
His dappy behavior made everyone smile at the party.
After a cup of tea, she felt a bit dappy and started dancing.

Synonyms

jolly

vsdappy

100 1.0

Happy and lively in a friendly way

is similarly lively but leans more toward silly, scatterbrained cheerfulness

cheerful

vsdappy

99 1.0

Happy in a way you show with a smile or friendly actions

is sillier and more scatterbrained rather than just positive

upbeat

vsdappy

76 3.8

Feeling cheerful and hopeful, sometimes too positive for the situation

shares optimism but is more noticeably silly and scatterbrained in mood

perky

vsdappy

46 4.1

Cheerful and full of energy

is less about confident energy and more about silly, scatterbrained cheer

daft

vsdappy

Informal

26 5.8

Silly in a way that is slightly funny

is similarly foolish but more overtly cheerful and lighthearted

bubbly

vsdappy

19 3.2

Full of cheerful energy and excitement

is comparable but adds a clearer element of foolish cheerfulness

peppy

vsdappy

Informal

15 3.1

Full of energy and excitement

is more about playful silliness and less about pure energetic drive

daffy

vsdappy

Informal

10 8.4

Acting silly and slightly crazy in a harmless way

leans more toward cheerful cheerfulness combined with a scatterbrained feel

giggly

vsdappy

6 2.9

Often laughing in a light, silly way when nervous or amused

is sillier overall and combines laughfulness with a scatterbrained air

ditzy

vsdappy

Informal

5 8.2

Silly and a little forgetful in a friendly way

is similarly silly but also noticeably overly cheerful rather than only scatterbrained

dippy

vsdappy

Informal

4 8.2

Being silly and a little strange in a friendly way

is equally silly but shows more overt cheerfulness than mere eccentricity

ducky

vsdappy

Archaic

4 8.1

Cute and cheerful in a way that makes people smile

is more overtly silly and slightly scatterbrained rather than just charming

chirpy

vsdappy

Informal

4 3.1

Feeling happy and full of energy

is like that but often more foolishly cheerful and scatterbrained

giddy

vsdappy

Informal

3 4.4

Acting silly and playful without being serious

is similar but shows more lasting cheerful silliness and scatterbrained traits

ditsy

vsdappy

Informal

2 7.2

Being silly and forgetful but not serious

adds a stronger overt cheerfulness to that gentle scatterbrained manner

chippy

vsdappy

1 7.7

Being lively and cheerful, often a little cheeky

is more innocent and openly silly rather than cheeky or bold

slaphappy

vsdappy

Informal

1 8.4

Acting cheerful and not careful about work or duties

is less reckless and more simply silly and overly cheerful in tone

dopy

vsdappy

Offensive

1 7.2

Silly and slow to understand things

is sillier with more cheerful, scatterbrained friendliness rather than blunt foolishness

chappy

vsdappy

1 8.1

Happy and full of energy

is more silly and scatterbrained rather than merely lively

twitty

vsdappy

Informal

1 9.2

Silly in a light, playful way

adds a stronger sense of cheerfulness and slight scatterbrained behaviour

larky

vsdappy

1 7.4

Playful and silly in a way that makes people laugh

keeps playfulness but shows more naïve cheerfulness and scatterbrained quality

blithesome

vsdappy

Archaic

1 9.9

Happy and not worried about things

is similar but includes a more obvious silly and scatterbrained quality

a bit dotty

vsdappy

1 8.5

A little strange in a kind, harmless way

is more about cheerful, scatterbrained behaviour rather than just eccentricity

a bit loony

vsdappy

Offensive

8.9

A little strange and silly

is more playful and overtly cheerful rather than mainly unbalanced

pippy

vsdappy

Informal

8.1

Being full of energy and cheerful

is closer to playful silliness combined with a scatterbrained air

Antonyms

serious

∞ 1.4

Calm and focused, not playful or joking

sensible

185 2.7

Showing good judgment and making practical choices

Compounds

dappy grin

9.5

A silly smile that makes someone look foolish

How Silly

crazy

Slur

53 7.2

foolish

383 1.3

daft

Informal

26 5.8

dappy

1 9.9

giddy

Informal

3 4.4

playful

72 1.6

Surface Forms

dappy positive

dappier comparative

dappiest superlative

Morphology

dappy = dapp + y

Although the adjective-forming suffix '-y' is productive, the root 'dapp' is dialectal/obscure and not a recognizable modern English base, so learners cannot reliably infer the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

Dappy sounds like the older word daffy, which means 'silly', and the ending -y is a common way to make a word mean 'full of' something; so think of dappy as 'a bit daffy'.