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Glite Dictionary
unplayful

unplayful

7.0
Not wanting to joke or have fun
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈpleɪfəl/
translation icon : serio
  • The teacher's unplayful demeanor during the party discouraged the students from enjoying themselves.

Examples

  • His serious attitude made him seem unplayful to the children trying to have fun.

  • After the unplayful meeting, everyone felt drained and ready for a break.

  • Watch a team today that only runs the ball, and you can still get an idea of how unplayful things can get.

    Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

serious
vsunplayful
452 1.4

Calm and focused, not playful or joking

shows total lack of any sense of fun rather than mere focus
sober
vsunplayful
44 4.6

Serious and sensible in behavior or tone

is completely without any sense of fun or joking

Antonyms

playful
79 1.6

Full of fun and energy and liking jokes or games

How Playful

mischievous
19 3.5
frisky
33 3.2
playful
79 1.6
unplayful
7.0

Surface Forms

unplayful positive

Morphology

unplayful = playful (transparent) = un + play + ful

Formed by prefixing 'un-' to 'playful'; the meaning directly negates 'playful' and is clear to learners who know 'play' and '-ful'.

Etymology

The word unplayful breaks into un- ('not') + play ('to have fun') + -ful ('full of'). So unplayful means 'not full of play', a person or thing that is not playful and seems to have no sense of fun.