mettlesome

adjective

met·​tle·​some ˈme-tᵊl-səm 

: full of mettle : spirited

Did you know?

The 17th-century adjective mettlesome (popularly used of spirited horses) sometimes appeared as the variant metalsome. That's not surprising. In the 16th century and for some time after, mettle was a variant spelling of metal—that is, the word for substances such as gold, copper, and iron. The 16th century was also when metal—or mettle—acquired the figurative sense of "spirit," "courage," or "stamina." However, by the early 18th century, dictionaries were noting the distinction between metal, used for the substance, and mettle, used for "spirit," so that nowadays the words mettle and mettlesome are rarely associated with metal.

Synonyms

• active
• airy
• animate
• animated
• bouncing
• brisk
• energetic
• frisky
• gay
• jaunty
• jazzy
• kinetic
• lively
• peppy
• perky
• pert
• pizzazzy
• pizazzy
• racy
• snappy
• spanking
• sparky
• spirited
• sprightly
• springy
• vital
• vivacious
• zippy

Examples of mettlesome in a Sentence

the mettlesome opening dance number got the audience all jazzed up

a mettlesome debate on the teaching of evolution in the schools

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

mettlesome

adjective

met·​tle·​some ˈmet-ᵊl-səm 

: full of mettle : spirited