waggish
1
8.0
- adjective
- /ˈwæɡɪʃ/
- Literature
- He was too quiet; his eyes lacked their usual waggish glint, and he, like everyone else, seemed to be watching her.
Examples
-
"Do I speak feelingly now?" a gentleman asks Lucio, the waggish spokesman for licentiousness.
Academic text (2001) -
" Hrostilfe made a waggish gesture."
Fiction book (1993) -
Have you found him yet?" The question usually comes from an academic colleague, and it's typically accompanied by a waggish smile.
Academic text (1998) -
He demonstrated, doing a waggish little dance step around the floor.
Fiction book (1993) -
As waggish boys in game themselves forswear, so the boy love is perjured every where:
-
I always remember him as shadowy, erratic, waggish.
Fiction book (1999) -
Shaking rattles of waggish privity
Fiction book (2002) -
Nevertheless, a certain waggish mathematician provoked some scorn and much stifled laughter when, in a stage whisper, he paraphrased Descartes's most famous dictum.
Fiction book (1990) -
The comedian's waggish remarks had the audience in stitches throughout the entire show.
-
Her waggish personality made every gathering lively and entertaining for everyone involved.
Synonyms
3
6.7
Showing playful, friendly mischief
1
8.1
Saying quick clever remarks that are often funny and a little sarcastic
1
6.3
Acting playful and slightly naughty, often doing small harmless tricks
Antonyms
How Playful
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Waggish comes from the old word wag, which originally meant 'to move' and later came to mean a playful 'person' who liked jokes. A helpful way to remember it is to picture a dog wagging its tail: a waggish remark is lively, playful, and a little mischievous.