What is "sprightly"

Usage examples of "sprightly".

It had helped him even further to note the almost sprightly air that was pervading the old man.

When, ten years afterwards, we heard much of the gallantry of the young courtiers of the household of the French King, and of the sprightly courage with which they fought against us in the Lowlands at Steinkirk and elsewhere, I have always thought, from my recollection of Sir Gervas, that I knew what manner of men they were.

The City is a sprightly youngster, and you are red paint upon its toy, and you get licked off.

But Adams did like the children and hugely enjoyed observing them: I sometimes, in my sprightly moments, consider myself, in my great chair at school, as some dictator at the head of a commonwealth.

Kehan came in, an arm around his mother, who looked about ten years younger than Batan and a good bit more sprightly.

The morning came when the Hofrat in his sprightly phraseology announced that not only on the first culture, but on all the others as well, cocci had subsequently grown, in large quantities.

Lady Cytherea was seated near the window engaged in sprightly conversation with Lady Arabelle.

A sprightly old crone with rosy cheeks and hair in white elflocks, she was on her feet and at the front gate by the time Grace reached her.

Then the trumpets and flugelhorns in the bandshell began to play sprightly melodies and everyone settled down to watch the show.

She was competent and graceful enough on the rosinback, but workmanlike, not sprightly and vivacious.

The sight of the man spiffed and polished in a handsome uniform was so stirring that she felt inclined to pause and stare in admiration, except that Ali, intent upon catching his eye, did a sprightly scamper around an approaching coach and began to wave her arm and shout his name in an eager quest to gain his attention.

The grovelling Mole and creeping Shrew are as unlike the sprightly Tupaia, as it springs from branch to branch, whisking its long bushy tail, as it is possible to conceive.

Hippias usually the silent member, as if awakened by the unnatural stillness, became sprightly, like the goatsucker owl at night and spoke much of his book, his digestion, and his dreams, and was spared both by Algernon and Adrian.

When I stalked out like that from the library in fine mood to moralise and apostrophise heaven in a way that would no doubt have looked fine upon these pages, one sprightly damsel, just as the gloomy rhetoric was bursting from my lips, thrust a flower under my nose whose scent brought on a violent attack of sneezing, her companions joining hands and dancing round me while they imitated my agony.

They were both at the mark in an instant, Jim as full of sprightly confidence as ever, and Berks with a fixed grin upon his bull-dog face and a most vicious gleam in the only eye which was of use to him.