SPRINGY (springier, springiest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: springier    , springiest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does springy mean? 

• SPRINGY (adjective)
  The adjective SPRINGY has 2 senses:

1. elastic; rebounds readily

2. (of movements) light and confidently active

  Familiarity information: SPRINGY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPRINGY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Elastic; rebounds readily

Synonyms:

bouncy; live; lively; resilient; springy

Context example:

springy turf

Similar:

elastic (capable of resuming original shape after stretching or compression; springy)

Derivation:

springiness (the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(of movements) light and confidently active

Context example:

he walked away with a springy step

Similar:

active (full of activity or engaged in continuous activity)

 Context examples 

His staff in one hand and his scrip in the other, with springy step and floating locks, he raced along the forest path, as active and as graceful as a young deer.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was a fine figure of a man, tall, lithe, and agile, with a springy step and a pleasant, open face.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Our favourite place was beyond Wolstonbury, where we could stretch ourselves upon the soft, springy, chalk grass among the plump little Southdown sheep, chatting with the shepherds, as they leaned upon their queer old Pyecombe crooks, made in the days when Sussex turned out more iron than all the counties of England.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Her jet-black hair was gathered back under a light pink coif, her head poised proudly upon her neck, and her step long and springy, like that of some wild, tireless woodland creature.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His springy step never slowed until suddenly, when he was a hundred yards in front of me, he halted, and I saw him throw up his hand with a gesture of grief and despair.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Often I have watched them come up the aisle upon a Sunday, first the square, thick-set man, and then the little, worn, anxious-eyed woman, and last this glorious lad with his clear-cut face, his black curls, and his step so springy and light that it seemed as if he were bound to earth by some lesser tie than the heavy-footed villagers round him.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was a very tall young man, golden-moustached, blue-eyed, with a skin which had been burned by tropical suns, and a springy step, which showed that the huge frame was as active as it was strong.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)