elfin
3
7.7
- adjective
- /ˈɛlfɪn/
- Literature
:
élfico
- Heather, the child, is a spunky, modern little thing with a spiky, elfin haircut.
- elfin face
- elfin hair
- elfin feature
Examples
-
The horses looked like elfin steeds, decked out in red and mounted by metal-helmed, crimson-caped figures.
Fiction book (1993) -
As the door swung shut behind them, the leather-clad woman grinned, the expression transforming her almost elfin face, and came over to the bar, pulling her order pad out of her waistband by its chain.
Fiction book (1990) -
An elfin fellow in a snappy black suit.
Fiction book (1991) -
But he exudes an unlikely, elfin charm.
Blog text (32) -
Small, slight, almost elfin.
Fiction book (1996) -
He looked up from the coffee and grinned at the elfin waitress wrinkling her nose at him.
Fiction book (1990) -
Velma, the girlfriend, was a tiny, elfin woman with a cap of glassy hair and a pert little figure set off by trim white shorts.
Fiction book (1995) -
Tion kneels in the dirt, eyes closed, an elfin figure whose smile is made goofily endearing by two missing front teeth.
-
He'd gotten more than one invitation, too, but the one he had followed up on was from a dark-haired, blue-eyed, elfin little creature with an infectious laugh and a nonstop smile.
Fiction book (1992) -
She gazed up at him with her elfin eyes, which sparkled like stars on a clear night.
Synonyms
14
8.6
A person or thing that looks small, delicate, and graceful in a magical way
4
8.1
Playful and slightly naughty in a quick, happy way
1
6.8
Playful and slightly naughty in a cheerful, harmless way
Small and delicate with graceful pointed features
Having a small, gentle, and magical look
Being playful and slightly naughty like a small friendly fairy
Playful and a little naughty like a small fairy
Seeming strange and a little like someone from a fairy story
Antonyms
Compounds
- Slang
A funny phrase for rules that are too careful and stop people from having fun
How Small
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Elfin comes from the old word elf, a small magical creature, plus the ending -in, so it simply means 'like an elf'. Picture a tiny, quick fairy — that image helps explain why elfin describes something small, delicate, charming, or a little mischievous.