puckishly
1
9.6
- adverb
- /ˈpʌkɪʃli/
:
traviesamente
- She smiled puckishly as she planned her little prank on her friends.
Examples
-
In a text in which a circumstance of communion with the female body is described, even if it is the childish setting of a garden party and the women have been repersonified as dolls, the conjunction of elements descriptive of the body moves from integrative to puckishly absurd.
Academic text (1994) -
His aging Elven features narrowed puckishly.
Fiction book (1992) -
I've seen you at my dentist's office," Andrew suddenly decided over dinner, and puckishly displayed his perfect teeth.
Fiction book (1993) -
Bayard, though puckishly disclaiming any intent to help, does surface some interesting points about the many ways readers talk about books they haven't read.
Blog text (27) -
He made his joke puckishly, knowing it would catch everyone off guard.
-
The cat looked puckishly at the string, ready to pounce at any moment.
Synonyms
18
1.4
In a fun, teasing way
3
4.6
In a playful way that causes small trouble to make people laugh
3
3.7
In a playful way that makes someone laugh or feel a little annoyed
2
7.2
In a playful, slightly naughty way that shows mischief
1
6.8
Playful and mildly naughty in a way that makes people laugh
1
7.9
In a playful, teasing way that shows sly amusement
1
6.2
In a rude but playful way that shows little respect
1
6.7
To act in a playful and slightly naughty way that seems friendly
1
7.3
In a playful way that breaks small rules to make people laugh
In a playful joking way to make people laugh
In a playful way that shows secret understanding by closing one eye quickly
Antonyms
How Playful
Surface Forms
Morphology
puckishly = puckish (opaque) = puck + ish + ly
The adverb is formed regularly from 'puckish', but the adjective itself depends on the literary proper name 'Puck', so the meaning is not transparent to an average learner.
Etymology
Puckishly comes from Puck, a well-known mischievous fairy or spirit in English stories and in Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. So, to act puckishly is to behave in a 'playful' and slightly 'naughty' way, like Puck making small tricks.