sportive

Everyday

1. (old-fashioned) Sportive means playful and full of fun: a sportive puppy. tree →
2. Sportive can mean to do with sport, or sporty in look (a sportive car — more common in other languages). tree →
3. (cycling) A «sportive» (noun) is a long organised bike ride that is not a race. tree →

In the lessons

Rare in everyday English: you meet it in old books and poems for playful animals or children. In cycling (UK, Ireland), a sportive is a popular long ride with timing, open to amateurs. Learners from other languages may say «sportive» when English speakers would say «sporty».

Examples

• The sportive lambs jumped about the field. tree →
• The poem describes sportive dolphins in the waves. tree →
• Dad entered a 100-kilometre cycling sportive. tree →
• She was in a sportive mood and played tricks all day. tree →
• In English we usually say «sporty», not «sportive», for someone who likes sport. tree →
• The kittens were sportive and chased the string. tree →
• But with the Pygmies he was the most sportive and humorous, and merry-hearted, and sweet-tempered old Giant that ever washed his face in a wet cloud. tree →

Note

False friend: French «sportif» and some other languages' words mean «sporty» or «athletic»; in English, «sporty» is the normal word. «Sportive» is old-fashioned, except as the cycling noun.