childish

adjective

child·ish ˈchī(-ə)l-dish

Synonyms of childish next

: of, relating to, or suitable for a child or childhood

She didn't like dolls, fairy tales were childish, and one couldn't draw all the time.—

Louisa May Alcott

… heard childish voices and laughter afar up the lane …—

Lucy Maud Montgomery

: marked by or suggestive of immaturity and lack of poise

a childish prank

behavior that was petty and childish

: lacking complexity : simple

It's a childish device, but it works.

: exhibiting a decline of cognitive abilities (such as memory) associated with old age

He did not like to lose his temper with his parents. … They were both getting childish and needed care and yet they resented any loss of authority.—

Pearl Buck

childishly adverb

behaving childishly

The concept is almost childishly simple. —

Business Week

childishness noun

… the childishness of the script overshadows a marvelous performance by Dolly Parton … —

People Weekly

Examples of childish in a Sentence

She has a childish face. a letter written in childish scrawl He opened the gifts with childish delight. We're tired of their childish games. I find his humor very childish.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Instead, too many people are willing to write off his childish, mean-spirited antics by saying, well, Trump's just being Trump. —

ABC News, 27 Oct. 2024 With each day, the boy’s instinctive interest in natural history transcended his childish thirst for adventure. —

Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Oct. 2024 Ego Nwodim shines as an overworked Amazon employee, and Sarah Sherman and James Austin Johnson also appear as childish versions of Oasis’s Joel and Liam Gallagher. —

Rosa Escandon, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024 All About the Viral TikTok Sensation Today, however, the Earles said their childish resistance is water under the bridge and has been replaced by a true familial bond. —

Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for childish