juvenile

American  

[joo-vuh-nl, -nahyl] / ˈdʒu və nl, -ˌnaɪl /

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable or intended for young persons.

   juvenile books.

2. young; youthful.

   juvenile years.

3. immature; childish; infantile.

   His juvenile tantrums are not in keeping with his age.

---

noun

• juveniles
  plural

1. a young person; youth.

2. Theater.

   1. a youthful male or female role.

   2. an actor or actress who plays such parts.

3. a book for children.

4. Ornithology. a young bird that has its first set of contur feathers.

5. a two-year-old racehorse.

juvenile British  

/ ˈdʒuːvɪˌnaɪl /

adjective

1. young, youthful, or immature

2. suitable or designed for young people

   juvenile pastimes

3. (of animals or plants) not yet fully mature

4. of or denoting young birds that have developed their first plumage of adult feathers

5. geology occurring at the earth's surface for the first time; new

   juvenile water

   juvenile gases

---

noun

1. a juvenile person, animal, or plant

2. an actor who performs youthful roles

3. a book intended for young readers

Usage

What does juvenile mean? Juvenile describes something that is related to youth or young people. Generally, juvenile is used to describe something that has to do with children, as in Sam folded the juvenile clothing before he folded the baby clothing. Juvenile can also describe something that is related to youth or being young, as in Now in her 80s, Hannah looked back fondly on her juvenile years. Juvenile can also be used to describe something that is related to youth in a negative way, such as being immature or naive, as in Drawing on the walls is juvenile behavior that most parents won’t tolerate. As a noun, juvenile is a young person, as in The lost driver got directions from the friendly juvenile on the corner. Jejune is a synonym for juvenile in the sense of something childish or immature. But jejune can also describe something that is bland or uninspiring, as in He wrote a jejune story about making eggs for breakfast. Example: The author wrote juvenile fiction that was incredibly popular with the country’s children.

Synonym Usage

See young.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• juvenileness
  noun
• prejuvenile
  adjective
• unjuvenile
  adjective
• juvenilely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• juveniles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of juvenile

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin juvenīlis “youthful,” equivalent to juven(is) “youthful” + -īlis adjective suffix; see -ile

Explanation

If you're being juvenile, you're not acting your age. Unless of course you are a juvenile. In which case, carry on. While the noun juvenile refers to someone not physically or emotionally mature, the word is often used as an adjective to refer to anything specifically for young people, such as juvenile reading materials or movies. It can be derisive, as in "Don't act so juvenile," suggesting a silliness unbecoming an adult. The word comes from the Latin juvenīlis, meaning "youthful" — similar, but much more flattering.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

juvenile juveniles

In the new season, “Tires” ventures beyond the garage into different settings and “themes you can’t really be juvenile about,” McKeever said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described those carrying out settler attacks as a handful of misguided young people: "150 juvenile delinquents", he's called them, or "70 teenagers from broken homes".

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

But the warm ocean water will be a blow to juvenile salmon, and that won’t show up until two or three years later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Quintero lived next to her cousin, and they became “pen pals” after he was sent to juvenile hall, she testified.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

In states like Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, there were hundreds of people whose cases were affected by the recent decisions, but no lawyers were available to assist these condemned juvenile lifers.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm said sentencing juveniles to life imprisonment without parole was unusual because of their youth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Prof Evans said it fell from 14-16 million juveniles a year, to a little more than 200,000.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

"Orcas often tear apart prey and share it with other members of the group, including calves and juveniles," said Ayres.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Under state law, California counties are required to destroy many criminal records for juveniles, leaving the county with almost no visibility into who was in their facilities decades ago.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

Proposition 21, the law allowing prosecutors to file charges against juveniles in adult court, had been upheld by the California Supreme Court way back in 2002.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Related Words

• adolescent
• boy
• girl
• infant
• minor
• youngster
• youth