as in brave
informal
having or showing a lot of courage or determination
A plucky young man who never gave up on his dream.
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Recent Examples of plucky
Yes, but: Some argue that these plucky underdogs may cease to exist as good players transfer to more elite programs that can offer them more NIL money.
—
Maxwell Millington, Axios, 7 Apr. 2025
The intense first look at his new film, The Running Man, debuted at CinemaCon on Thursday and introduced Powell's plucky Ben Richards, the hero of Stephen King's 1982 novel of the same name, written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
—EW.com, 3 Apr. 2025
There are plucky steamed chive dumplings with translucent skin, meatball-like shumai teeming with pork, chicken or shrimp, green tea sesame balls (each $1.50 apiece) with Wicked-green dough surrounding sweet black paste.
—Benjy Egel, Sacbee.com, 2 Apr. 2025
That pluckiest of Cinderellas, Calipari has the Razorbacks playing at the top of their form.
—Jordan Brenner, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plucky
Maxwell Millington, Axios, 7 Apr. 2025
The intense first look at his new film, The Running Man, debuted at CinemaCon on Thursday and introduced Powell's plucky Ben Richards, the hero of Stephen King's 1982 novel of the same name, written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
—EW.com, 3 Apr. 2025
There are plucky steamed chive dumplings with translucent skin, meatball-like shumai teeming with pork, chicken or shrimp, green tea sesame balls (each $1.50 apiece) with Wicked-green dough surrounding sweet black paste.
—Benjy Egel, Sacbee.com, 2 Apr. 2025
That pluckiest of Cinderellas, Calipari has the Razorbacks playing at the top of their form.
—Jordan Brenner, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plucky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plucky
Adjective
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The National Police Office will fully take care of the benefits and welfare of the families of the 5 brave policemen.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
25 Apr. 2025
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Holocaust survivor Marian Turski warned us all to be vigilant against indifference for good reason: turning inward at times of strife prevents us from being brave and leads to the exploitation of the vulnerable.—
Robert Williams,
Time,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The doc observes students shaping and driving courageous forms of conversation among themselves and with their institutions.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2025
-
John Lewis John Lewis, born in 1940 in Troy, Alabama, was a son of sharecroppers who became one of the most courageous and enduring voices of the Civil Rights Movement.—
Sughnen Yongo,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Without every last one of those points, there’s no telling whether No. 1 Duke would’ve survived No. 4 Arizona’s valiant comeback attempt.—
The Athletic College Basketball Staff,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The Cybertruck is indeed a valiant effort in doing something new, and that’s not what most manufacturers dare to do.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Known for their fearless improvisation and genre-defying performances, the trio’s performance in a hall, on the grounds of a former convent, was a 45-minute, intense, non-stop wall of sound.—
Joanne Shurvell,
Forbes.com,
19 Apr. 2025
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The centerpiece is a visually stunning film set in outer space, with Zendaya as the fearless protagonist on an interstellar mission.—
Mecca Pryor,
Essence,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But Trump remains defiant about the tariffs, much like Putin remains determined to continue Russia’s assault on Ukraine.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2025
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The Bears signed Grady Jarrett in free agency to be a starter on the interior of the line but remain determined to create a deep rotation up front.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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For nearly a century after the Civil War, terroristic lynchings of Black men in the South were frequently justified as gallant acts by white men to protect their wives and daughters.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Apr. 2025
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An elaborate ideology confers legitimacy upon the Kim family: according to the country’s founding myth, Kim Il Sung led a gallant band of guerilla fighters in the bitter winds of Manchuria to defeat the Japanese, liberate the Korean people, and establish the North Korean state.—
JENNIFER LIND,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Oct. 2010
Adjective
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If such a situation arises, China will never accept it and will take countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
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Garland shared the duo’s resolute ethic while appearing at a Los Angeles panel alongside Mendoza (and D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai, who portrays Mendoza with a convincing stoicism that arose from his inquiries into the concerted memories of the SEAL’s battle mates).—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Internet users were gripped by Chewy's antics and the heroic rescue, leading to more than 4,200 comments on the TikTok post so far.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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The history of the news media is filled with heroic efforts of reporters at war fronts – from Edward R. Murrow during World War II’s London Blitz to CBS News’s Dan Rather and Morley Safer in Vietnam to Tyler Hicks covering Afghanistan for 20 years for the New York Times.—
Howard Homonoff,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plucky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plucky. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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