Meaning & use

elfin

adjective·Advanced

Small, delicate, and having a playful or mischievous charm, like an elf in appearance.

See it in a sentence

The child had an elfin face with bright eyes and a mischievous grin.

Her elfin features made her a natural choice to play the fairy in the play.

A note on using this word

Elfin usually describes physical appearance, especially facial features, rather than personality or behavior.

Words with a similar meaning

delicatefairylike

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “elfin”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.