[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/spirited.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / spirited

[← S](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/S/)

# spirited

«spirited» in Mova's school dictionary: **full of energy, courage and liveliness: "a spirited…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (spirited, more spirited, most spirited); also the past form of the verb spirit ("spirited away")

### meaning for a pupil

1) Spirited means full of energy, courage and liveliness: "a spirited little pony". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#m1)

2) A spirited effort or defence is a brave and lively one, even if it does not win. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#m2)

3) Spirited away (verb) means taken away quickly and secretly, as if by magic. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#m3)

4) In words like high-spirited, mean-spirited, public-spirited, it tells what kind of mood or heart someone has. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In stories spirited characters are bold and do not give up; a spirited horse is hard to control. In sport reports "a spirited performance" praises a team that tried hard. Phrases: high-spirited, free-spirited, mean-spirited, public-spirited, a spirited debate, spirited away.

### examples

- The spirited pony galloped across the field. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#x1)
- Our team put up a spirited fight but lost 2–1. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#x2)
- She is a spirited girl who loves adventure. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#x3)
- The class had a spirited debate about homework. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#x4)
- The children were high-spirited after the trip. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#x5)
- It was mean-spirited to laugh at his mistake. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#x6)
- The jewels were spirited away in the night. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#x7)
- The animal was fiery and spirited; they galloped round the lawn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/#x8)

### note

Spirited is the opposite of dull or weak. High-spirited = lively and excited; low-spirited = sad. Mean-spirited = unkind, not about energy at all — a common trap.

### In the corpora

- ["High-spirited" means noisy and unruly (not keeping to the rules).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/14-family-and-behaviour/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «spirited» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spirited/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.