What does sprightly mean?
Word: Sprightly
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Sprightly means lively and full of energy, especially when talking about an older person.
Synonyms: lively, energetic, active
Antonyms: sluggish
Word origin: Comes from spright, an old spelling of sprite.
How do you spell sprightly?
Syllables: spright - ly
Tricky part: The long i sound is spelt igh, and the g and h stay silent. Many students write the word as it sounds and leave them out.
Watch out for: spritly, sprigtly, sprihtly
Memory tip: A bright old lady can be a sprightly one: keep the same silent-letter middle that you write in bright.
Sprightly in a sentence
Example 1: My sprightly grandmother still climbs the stairs to her terrace garden every morning.
Example 2: At seventy-nine, Mr Menon is a sprightly walker who beats us all to the top of the hill.
Example 3: The film follows a sprightly old sailor who refuses to retire from the sea.
Fun Fact
The spright behind this word is the same old word as spirit: both trace back to Latin spiritus. So a sprightly grandfather and a high-spirited child are described by words from one family.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) slightly
b) knightly
c) sprightley
d) unsightly
Show answer
c) sprightley. This adjective closes with a plain ly, and no e slips in before the y.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
tgyrhslpi 123456789
a) 684925713
b) 648925173
c) 684295173
d) 684925173
Show answer
d) 684925173. Read the letters in this order and you get the word for someone lively in old age.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with a word of similar meaning:
1. sprightly 2. meagre 3. lucid a. scanty b. spry c. clear
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
b) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c. Spry is used of active older people, a meagre meal is a scanty one, and a lucid account is clear.
Sound Check
In which word is 'gh' pronounced differently?
a) frighten
b) sprightly
c) delight
d) roughly
Show answer
d) roughly. In roughly the two letters say f; in the other three they make no sound at all.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which person would you most likely call sprightly?
a) a man of eighty who cycles to market
b) a baby who is learning to sit up
c) a boy who naps through every lesson
d) a clerk who never leaves his desk
Show answer
a) a man of eighty who cycles to market
2. A sprightly melody would sound ___.
a) harsh and loud
b) soft and sleepy
c) slow and solemn
d) quick and cheerful
Show answer
d) quick and cheerful
