as in brave
informal
having or showing a lot of courage or determination
A plucky young man who never gave up on his dream.
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Recent Examples of plucky
Once the hottest team in the league, the plucky Canadiens have now lost four straight, which is going to make their path to the postseason far more tricky.
—
James Mirtle, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
With tangible social and political changes on the galactic table, the next Mass Effect could avoid the universe-building self-limitations of recent late sequel efforts (again, looking at you, Star Wars and your sequel trilogy rehash of the plucky Rebels vs. evil Empire scenario).
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 25 Mar. 2025
This was Madness, where a lax effort against a plucky underdog meant the death of a season.
—Luca Evans, The Denver Post, 20 Mar. 2025
The film follows an Anna Wintour-like fashion media mogul (Meryl Streep) who tests the grit of a plucky young assistant (Anne Hathaway), who gets by with a little help from friends like Nigel, the fictional magazine's witty art director.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plucky
James Mirtle, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
With tangible social and political changes on the galactic table, the next Mass Effect could avoid the universe-building self-limitations of recent late sequel efforts (again, looking at you, Star Wars and your sequel trilogy rehash of the plucky Rebels vs. evil Empire scenario).
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 25 Mar. 2025
This was Madness, where a lax effort against a plucky underdog meant the death of a season.
—Luca Evans, The Denver Post, 20 Mar. 2025
The film follows an Anna Wintour-like fashion media mogul (Meryl Streep) who tests the grit of a plucky young assistant (Anne Hathaway), who gets by with a little help from friends like Nigel, the fictional magazine's witty art director.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plucky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plucky
Adjective
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Whether Flick would be brave and take a punt on the veteran by throwing him straight into the back line was another matter entirely, though.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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In the podcast, one of the things that struck both of us so much was this amazing, brave, vulnerable choice that the real Molly made to allow Nikki into that room to record her.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Those are the types of questions courageous politicians should be embracing.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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With 72% of employees avoiding conflict, missed opportunities cost organizations dearly—but teams leveraging the simplest collaboration tools can more easily foster courageous communication and experience a 79% boost in transparency and effectiveness.—
Keith Ferrazzi,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Bree Hall, Sania Feagin and Raven Johnson are valiant seniors who play fearlessly after winning it all twice in three years.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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Minutes from an upset of top-seed Florida, the reigning back-to-back national champions saw their record-long 13-game NCAA Tournament winning streak come to an end after a valiant effort at the Lenovo Center Sunday afternoon, the final score 77-75.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The eclectic evening highlighted what is at the core of both Mosshart's artistry and Lotan's design ethos: fearless self-expression.—
Gaby Keiderling,
Vogue,
28 Mar. 2025
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In her public appearances and on social media, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has become a symbol of fearless resistance to the Trump administration’s bullying.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Despite Donald Trump‘s growing chokehold on the Kennedy Center, Conan O’Brien was determined to fill the venue with laughs.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
3 Apr. 2025
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Whereas Selena exudes ambition, Pete is inexplicably determined not to advance in his job — which is tricky, since Willie keeps killing his superiors, which means Pete’s bound to become captain eventually, if only by process of elimination.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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An elaborate ideology confers legitimacy upon the Kim family: according to the country’s founding myth, Kim Il Sung led a gallant band of guerilla fighters in the bitter winds of Manchuria to defeat the Japanese, liberate the Korean people, and establish the North Korean state.—
JENNIFER LIND,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Oct. 2010
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In stereotypical movies, the gallant hero saves the damsel through daring, dramatic action.—
Amanda Nguyen,
TIME,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side In the big-screen adaptation of this true story, Sandra Bullock played Leigh Anne Tuohy, the resolute Southern mother who adopts teen Michael Oher.—
Zoey Lyttle,
People.com,
2 Mar. 2025
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Conscientiously addressing a national crisis of domestic abuse while also lunging for the heartstrings, the film is an uneven balance of grainy social realism and crowd-pleasing uplift, but Cruz’s resolute performance just about holds it together.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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For as long as humans have been telling stories, their heroic protagonists have chased after the Fountain of Youth, a mythical site that could reverse the effects of aging and death.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2025
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But without the animating spirit of Rickey's Christian faith, the Dodger standout's heroic journey would not have been possible.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plucky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plucky. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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