younger

¹

[ yuhng-ger ]

adjective

1. comparative of young.
2. (usually initial capital letter) (used to designate the junior of two related persons bearing the same name):

   Charles the Younger ruled after his father abdicated.

noun

1. the junior of two persons in age (often used with a possessive pronoun):

   Her brother is seven years her younger.

Younger

²

[ yuhng-ger ]

noun

1. Thomas Coleman Cole, 1844–1916, U.S. outlaw, associated with Jesse James.

Word History and Origins

Origin of younger¹

First recorded before 1000; young ( def ) + -er ⁴( def )

Example Sentences

One problem is that reprogramming doesn’t just make cells act younger but also changes their identity—for instance, turning a skin cell into a stem cell.

From MIT Technology Review

That means a retired couple in their 80s, or a younger disabled couple, could be financially better off getting divorced than staying married.

From TIme

Who are some younger popular historians that you think will be a lot better known a decade from now?

From The Daily Beast

You know, when I was younger, I used to make problems for myself, like it was too easy.

From The Daily Beast

My younger, straighter-than-an-arrow son was stopped and arrested in two separate jurisdictions a few years ago.

From The Daily Beast

Her adopted daughter tried to suffocate a younger biological sibling.

From The Daily Beast

A male and female who do most of the mating dominate packs, and younger subordinates only breed occasionally.

From The Daily Beast

To think,” said the younger Englishwoman to her sister, “of this wee mite travelling about in an open motor!

From Project Gutenberg

She and her younger sister, Janet, had quarreled a good deal through force of unfortunate habit.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet he realized that Mrs. Chepstow was looking less faded, younger, more beautiful than when last he had been with her.

From Project Gutenberg

At this moment Mrs. Chepstow lived in Isaacson's thought that she looked younger, less faded, and more beautiful.

From Project Gutenberg

Now this younger son—I believe that he is in his twenty-first year at present—has been something of a scapegrace.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• inconsequential
• lesser
• negligible
• petty
• secondary
• slight
• trivial
• unimportant