impish

adjective

imp·​ish ˈim-pish How to pronounce impish (audio)
: of, relating to, or befitting an imp
especially : mischievous
impishly adverb
impishness noun

Examples of impish in a Sentence

the gang of impish children ran into the street, utterly oblivious to the traffic
Recent Examples on the Web Until then, Musk had always had an impish streak in him that eventually became magnified, subsuming the rest of his personality. Bypaolo Confino, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024 In the years since that encounter, Cartmill and her colleagues have analyzed 75 hours of footage from two zoos of chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas exhibiting similarly impish behavior. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2024 Projection designer Daniel Brodie conjures enchantment with an impish wink, but visually the show is nothing to look at. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024 The music, with its famous coyote howl (which Morricone imitates with impish glee), seemed to exist in its own pop dreamscape. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Feb. 2024 Mercutio, a bit unhinged but utterly lovable, can prove the most challenging role in the story, but Flynn gives him an impish, lovably boyish core beneath his penchant for troublemaking. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 2 Feb. 2024 The documentary shows Holmes, with an impish swagger, flying through the air like a human puppet, attached to wires, crashing and falling before green screens, then springing up to do it all again. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 15 Nov. 2023 My friend Sister Nabila Saleh is a petite, warm woman with an impish sense of humor. Claire Porter Robbins, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2024 Gregory, however, tired of being the impish, irresistible younger sibling and decamped alone for Southern California in 1972. Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of impish was in 1652

Dictionary Entries Near impish

Cite this Entry

“Impish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impish. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

impish

adjective
imp·​ish ˈim-pish How to pronounce impish (audio)
impishly adverb
impishness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on impish

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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