juvenile
[joo-vuh-nl, -nahyl]
- of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable or intended for young persons: juvenile books.
- young; youthful: juvenile years.
- immature; childish; infantile: His juvenile tantrums are not in keeping with his age.
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- a young person; youth.
- Theater.
- a youthful male or female role.
- an actor or actress who plays such parts.
- a book for children.
- Ornithology. a young bird in the stage when it has fledged, if altricial, or has replaced down of hatching, if precocial.
- a two-year-old racehorse.
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Origin of juvenile
Synonyms
See more synonyms for juvenile on Thesaurus.com1. See young.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for juvenile
Contemporary Examples
A car was indeed dispatched, with no mention that the suspect was possibly a juvenile and that the gun might be a toy.
Sixty of those 700 are “juvenile lifers,” men who came in as adolescents and are serving a life term.
I was also the front for a juvenile delinquent roaming the streets of New York City and using me as a parental alibi.
It also traces his days as a juvenile delinquent, and gradual rise up the R&B charts.
‘Get On Up’ Star Chadwick Boseman on Becoming James Brown—With A Little Help From Mick JaggerMarlow Stern
August 4, 2014
Over the past few years, activist groups have raised money to spare the lives of juvenile offenders who are unable to pay the fee.
Historical Examples
His narrative is adapted alike for the juvenile mind and for the adult.
The conversation at this point was interrupted by the appearance of the juvenile man.
The StrollersFrederic S. Isham
With impulsive kindness he stops and speaks assuringly to this juvenile spy.
Oswald LangdonCarson Jay Lee
This miracle is as common in the "Acta Sanctorum" as in the juvenile romances.
The Book-HunterJohn Hill Burton
Merrihew curled the ends of his juvenile mustache and scowled fiercely.
The Lure of the MaskHarold MacGrath
juvenile
- young, youthful, or immature
- suitable or designed for young peoplejuvenile pastimes
- (of animals or plants) not yet fully mature
- of or denoting young birds that have developed their first plumage of adult feathers
- geology occurring at the earth's surface for the first time; newjuvenile water; juvenile gases
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- a juvenile person, animal, or plant
- an actor who performs youthful roles
- a book intended for young readers
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin juvenīlis youthful, from juvenis young
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for juvenile
adj.
1620s, from Latin iuvenilis "of or belonging to youth," from iuvenis "young person," originally "young" (cf. French jeune; see young). Juvenile delinquency first recorded 1816; Juvenile delinquent the following year.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper