as in mischievous
tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness
told the prankish lad that someone would eventually get hurt if he kept it up
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Recent Examples of prankish
Angela Balogh Calin’s costumes prepare the way for Ionesco’s prankish jokes.
—
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Caltech is a sort of nerd Valhalla, where brilliant and creative youngsters study and engage in prankish mischief.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2026
Still, at its best, Needle Guy applies Brady’s prankish energy to unsettling inversions of his inspirations.
—Colin Joyce, Pitchfork, 25 Mar. 2026
And then there’s Whitehead’s own work: erudite, prankish, experimental in a literal sense—the act of listening is sometimes the experiment.
—Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
And within the prankish world created by the production, not everyone was in on the joke.
—David Renard, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Fuchs put a prankish spin on the descending octaves that tootle above the reprise of the symphony’s solemn opening.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Caltech is a sort of nerd Valhalla, where brilliant and creative youngsters study and engage in prankish mischief.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2026
Still, at its best, Needle Guy applies Brady’s prankish energy to unsettling inversions of his inspirations.
—Colin Joyce, Pitchfork, 25 Mar. 2026
And then there’s Whitehead’s own work: erudite, prankish, experimental in a literal sense—the act of listening is sometimes the experiment.
—Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
And within the prankish world created by the production, not everyone was in on the joke.
—David Renard, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Fuchs put a prankish spin on the descending octaves that tootle above the reprise of the symphony’s solemn opening.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prankish
Adjective
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Roy interjected with the mischievous smirk typical of a younger brother trying to ruffle some feathers.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
-
The new set will let builders assemble the mischievous supernatural messenger and his watchful bird companion.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
15 June 2026
Adjective
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Philadelphia already boasts a wicked rotation with Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesus Luzardo.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
-
Spark, who was born in 1918 and died in 2006, had a talent for writing wicked little books that defy easy categorization; her coming-of-age stories feel like horror stories, her horror stories feel like love stories, and her love stories feel like acid satire.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Rabbit Hole is more playful, with its games room, pool table, ping pong and private bar, seemingly designed for long nights and bad decisions.—
Arion McNicoll,
TheWeek,
15 June 2026
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The result was a sleek white ruffled top, when worn with matching trousers felt both modern and refreshing while another floral skirt embodied a playful feminine energy that personified warm weather dressing.—
Diana Tsui,
Footwear News,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prankish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prankish. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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