callow
adjective
immature or inexperienced.
callow
1
British
/ ˈkæləʊ /
adjective
-
lacking experience of life; immature
-
rare (of a young bird) unfledged and usually lacking feathers
Callow
2
British
/ ˈkæləʊ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of callow
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English calu “bald”; cognate with Dutch kaal, German kahl “bald,” Old Church Slavonic golŭ “bare”
Explanation
If you're a rookie or new to something, you could be described as callow — like callow freshmen in high school or the callow receptionist who can't figure out how to transfer a call. The word callow comes from the Old English word calu, which meant "bald or featherless." It was used to describe young, fledgling birds. Over time, the meaning expanded to include young, inexperienced people. You'll most often see the adjective paired with the noun youth. Think of the callow youth as people who haven't tested their wings yet.
Vocabulary lists containing callow
Brave New World
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Into the Wild
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Things Fall Apart
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Built by "Hitman" developers IO Interactive, "First Light" offers a new version of Bond's origin story, dropping players into the shoes of a cocky but callow young version of the spy still earning his stripes.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
He presented himself as a callow young culture warrior prosecuting a case against Old Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
Having won there for the first time as a callow 20 year old in 2010, McIlroy is a combined 102 under par on this properly robust major championship test.
From BBC ● May 12, 2025
I was just a callow teen when Jimmy Carter became president.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2025
Prince Dain, about to be crowned the High King, does not have time to indulge in the petty sport of pretending to take me into his service just because a callow younger brother wishes it.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Real money accounts and hedge funds combined are net long A$8.7 billion, Callow notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
Simon Callow is a new addition as a problematic billionaire funding Metropolitan Ballet Theater, as is David Haig, who plays its ailing artistic director.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2025
Brett Callow, a threat analyst with the cybersecurity company Emsisoft, said it was a “credible threat actor,” though not much more was known about the group.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2024
Brett Callow, an analyst for the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, counted 46 cyberattacks on hospitals last year, compared with 25 in 2022.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
But he had been dissuaded from experimenting with it by head coach Rusty Callow.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
