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Playful vs Fun - What's the difference?

playful | fun |

As adjectives the difference between playful and fun

is that playful is liking play, prone to play frequently, such as a child or kitten; rather sportive while fun is enjoyable, amusing.

As a noun fun is

amusement, enjoyment or pleasure.

As a verb fun is

to tease, kid, poke fun at, make fun of.

playful

English

Alternative forms

* playfull (archaic)

Adjective

(en-adj)
  • liking play, prone to play frequently, such as a child or kitten; rather sportive.
    • Actually, we are pretty playful in our romantic life.
  • funny, humorous, jesting, frolicsome.
    • John is a playful fellow.
    A party hat is a playful conical hat people wear at parties.
  • fun, recreational, not serious.
    • A brainteaser is a playful puzzle posed as a test of intelligence.
  • experimental.
    • He was a rather playful artist.

    Derived terms

    * playfully * playfulness

    fun

    English

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • (informal) enjoyable, amusing
    • We had a fun time at the party.
    He is such a fun person to be with.
  • (informal) whimsical, flamboyant
    • This year's fashion style is much more fun than recent seasons.

    Usage notes

    * Note that the use of fun as an adjective is often considered unacceptable in formal contexts. For more on the slang comparative and superlative, the use of which is disputed, see this discussion

    Derived terms

    * funny

    Noun

    (-)
  • amusement, enjoyment or pleasure
  • * 2000 , Robert Stanley, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Adobe Photoshop 6 , Alpha Books, page 377
    • Grafting your boss's face onto the hind end of a donkey is fun, but serious fun is when you create the impossible and it looks real.
  • playful, often noisy, activity.

    • Synonyms

    * amusement, diversion, enjoyment, a laugh, pleasure * boisterousness, horseplay, rough and tumble

    Derived terms

    * for the fun of it * fun and games * fun bags * funfair * funfest * fun-loving * fun-maker * funny * fun run, fun runner, fun running * funster * good fun * great fun * have fun * have fun with * in fun * like fun * make fun of * poke fun at

    Verb

  • (colloquial) To tease, kid, poke fun at, make fun of.
    • Hey, don't get bent out of shape over it; I was just funning you.

    Anagrams

    * 1000 English basic words ----