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Puerile may call to mind qualities of youth and immaturity, but the term itself is no spring chicken. On the contrary, it's been around for more than three centuries, and its predecessors in French and Latin, the adjectives puéril and puerilis, respectively, are far older. Those two terms have the same basic meaning as the English word puerile, and they both trace to the Latin noun puer, meaning "boy" or "child." Nowadays, puerile can describe the acts or utterances of an actual child, but it more often refers (usually with marked disapproval) to occurrences of childishness where adult maturity would be expected or preferred.
Synonyms
Examples of puerile in a Sentence
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 July 2024
Trump’s supporters turn the tables on his puerile critics.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024
The whole matter is puerile, and Sheriff Gahler should accept he’s met his match in Cassilly.
—Aegis Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2024
The reflexive response to the sight of André Onana standing, yet again, with his head bowed and his shoulders slumped after Manchester United’s gloriously puerile draw with Galatasaray on Wednesday is sympathy.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Puerile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puerile. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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puerile
adjective
Medical Definition
puerile
adjective
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