METTLESOME Synonyms: 123 Similar and Opposite Words

mettlesome

adjective

ˈme-tᵊl-səm

Definition of mettlesome

as in energetic

having much high-spirited energy and movement the mettlesome opening dance number got the audience all jazzed up

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in spirited

marked by a lively display of strong feeling a mettlesome debate on the teaching of evolution in the schools

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mettlesome He may have been provoked into battle by the ruler of Cebu, who was using Magellan’s troops to rid himself of a mettlesome chieftain known to raid the trade ships that navigated the waters in and around the islands. — Tim Carman, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2022

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mettlesome

Adjective

The poetry world in the city is multifarious and energetic, with waves of practitioners reading, listening to, and publishing one another.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Stones, Soddu explains, have a very long history of being associated with energetic, medicinal, protective, and symbolic properties.

— Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of energetic

Adjective

The painting, appearing at auction for the first time, prompted applause and a spirited contest involving Christie’s London specialist Edmond Francey and at least three other specialists bidding by telephone.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
The ceremony was a warm, high-spirited event, with each jury member inviting one winner up on stage to ask them about their films and creative process.

— Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of spirited

Adjective

There’s this desire, understandable on its face, to make the design and aesthetics of the live-action world recognizably similar to the animated world.

— Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026
The face is customizable with various colorways, clock fonts, and photos; there’s also an animated Snoopy, whose antics change with the weather and the holidays.

— Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of animated

Adjective

Bongulo Paneer — cooked in bamboo, served with a coconut and capsicum poriyal that blends peanut chutney, acidic gongura sour cream and fiery gunpowder.

— Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026
An 18-year-old Ida resident was killed after a fiery crash on Thursday morning in Monroe County, Michigan.

— Paula Wethington, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of fiery

Adjective

Einbinder and the staff writer Rachel Syme sit down for what’s sure to be a lively chat.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026
Microsoft and Nvidia held a launch party for the first wave of RTX Spark laptops last week in San Francisco, where a new wave of AI PCs took center stage amid a packed crowd and a lively hands-on area.

— Tom Warren, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of lively

Adjective

To imagine the natural world not as a passive resource but as an animate collaborator would be to reorder more than aesthetic categories, demanding another relation to our environment.

— Tara Anne Dalbow, ARTnews.com, 29 May 2026
Zugunruhe is the itinerant desire of any animate being to keep moving and growing.

— Big Think, Big Think, 6 May 2026

Definition of animate

Adjective

Most dogs benefit from two brisk daily walks of 20-30 minutes.

— Will Boyd, Baltimore Sun, 17 Oct. 2026
Los Javis, working with editor Alberto Gutiérrez, keep things moving, and the film’s two-and-a-half-hour running time moves at a surprisingly brisk pace.

— Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of brisk

Browse Nearby Words

mettle

mettlesome

mew

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“Mettlesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mettlesome. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of mettlesome

adjective

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