Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Buoyant and self-confident; briskly cheerful.
  • adjective Jaunty and appealing; sprightly.
  • adjective Small or firm and well-formed.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Perk; jaunty; pert.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Perk; pert; jaunty; trim.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Lively or enthusiastic.
  • adjective Standing upright; firm.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

perk +‎ -y

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Examples

  • A lot of them weren’t: older and heavier, they had substantial thighs; big, squishy rear ends; generous breasts to which the word perky would never be applied.

    In the Fullness of Time Emily W. Upham 2010

  • Through two bouts with the disease, a double mastectomy, and a TRAM flap reconstruction, she has blogged about everything from breast nicknames (she dubbed her perky reconstructed duo "Barbie breasts" because they have no nipples) to tricks for keeping cancer anxiety from rubbing off on your kids.

    EveryJoe 2008

  • First Impression: Jaime is described as perky and brave, but that doesn’t mean she’s wild.

    5-Star Baby Name Advisor Bruce Lansky 2008

  • First Impression: Jaime is described as perky and brave, but that doesn’t mean she’s wild.

    5-Star Baby Name Advisor Bruce Lansky 2008

  • JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): First, we couldn ` t stop calling her perky, and now we ` re perking up our ears because Katie Couric supposedly slapped someone?

    CNN Transcript Jul 10, 2007 2007

  • I'm still not what you'd call perky, but now there's a sense of the ridiculous in my sublime despondency.

    trinityboy Diary Entry trinityboy 2004

  • I think she's so attractive and vital and she used to be called perky, I used to be called perky.

    CNN Transcript Nov 14, 2002 2002

  • Andrew Roberts, the historian and socialite who often gets described as "perky" by gossip columnists, is at the other end of a phone line, very politely spitting feathers.

    The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed 2011

  • They also launched something called perky tweets which is now aired on Radio one.

    WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India 2009

  • I have never taken offense at being called perky, because the alternative is dull.

    The Vail Trail - All Sections 2009

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