juvenile

[ joo-vuh-nl, -nahyl ]

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

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

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˈjuveˌnilely, adverb
• ˈjuveˌnileness, noun

Other Words From

• juve·nile·ly adverb
• pre·juve·nile adjective
• un·juve·nile adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of juvenile¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of juvenile¹

C17: from Latin juvenīlis youthful, from juvenis young

Synonym Study

See young.

Example Sentences

After a juvenile manta ray coasted by, wings flapping, Sasso raised his arms in a mock touchdown celebration.

From Washington Post

At first, juvenile and young adult titles were a priority, Potash explains, followed by readers “seeking to comfort, educate, and delight themselves during their shelter-in-place periods.”

From Fortune

Without a standalone juvenile justice department, the state’s responsibilities are limited and scattered across the agency.

From ProPublica

In May, Grendell sent Stacy Hartman’s two teenage sons to juvenile detention after they refused a court-ordered visit with their father.

From ProPublica

Rattray suspects that the turtles are likely returning to areas they identified during their juvenile “lost years” as good habitats with few predators and lots of food.

From Nautilus

A car was indeed dispatched, with no mention that the suspect was possibly a juvenile and that the gun might be a toy.

From The Daily Beast

Officers were responding to a report of a missing juvenile girl, and found her in the house of Carey Smith-Viramontes.

From The Daily Beast

Sixty of those 700 are “juvenile lifers,” men who came in as adolescents and are serving a life term.

From The Daily Beast

I was also the front for a juvenile delinquent roaming the streets of New York City and using me as a parental alibi.

From The Daily Beast

When a 16-year-old takes on that wide-eyed, touched-for-the-very-first-time role, it all comes off as a tad more…juvenile.

From The Daily Beast

I travelled first-class on a pass with my father, and great was my juvenile pride.

From Project Gutenberg

Shakespeare was one of her favourite books at this time, and she took delight in juvenile attempts at personifying the characters.

From Project Gutenberg

She took more pleasure in her pupils literary efforts, and called him in fun the juvenile Poushkin.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing can be more juvenile or paltry than the works of the native Belgians here exhibited.

From Project Gutenberg

Juvenile delinquency itself has been the subject of much research (especially in the United States) during the past fifty years.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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

More About Juvenile

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.

Where does juvenile come from?

The first records of juvenile come from around 1615. It comes from the Latin juvenīlis, meaning “youthful.” Often, juvenile is used to mean something that is related to young people or reminds you of youth.

There are lots of words to describe children of various ages. A baby is generally a year old or younger and a preschooler is no more than 5-years-old, while an adolescent or a teenager is often aged 13 to 19. A juvenile, however, can describe any of these ages.

The word juvenile is often used when discussing children who break the law. A juvenile delinquent is a criminal who is a minor, usually younger than 18 years old. Minors are children who are tried in a juvenile court and are sentenced to a juvenile detention center.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to juvenile?

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

What are some synonyms for juvenile?

• childish
• youthful
• young
• youngster

What are some words that share a root or word element with juvenile? 

• juvenescent
• juvenilia
• juvenilize

What are some words that often get used in discussing juvenile?

• delinquent
• diabetes 
• court

What are some words juvenile may be commonly confused with?

• jejune

How is juvenile used in real life?

Juvenile is used to refer to children or things related to children. The negative sense is especially common.

Hello to this sweet "little" lady Charlotte! This juvenile white shark measures in at 8.1 ft (2.47 m) and is pinging off of Wilmington, NC! She has travelled 133 miles (214 km) in the last 72 hours 😊🦈🙌 #WildlifeWednesday Happy Cinco de Mayo y'all pic.twitter.com/sa6m7vRSLO

— Great White Montauk (@SharkMontauk) May 5, 2021

My life was wild as a juvenile

— Dre (@dre_hefamous) November 7, 2020

Twitter. The home of some great things, shameless pick-ups and juvenile insults.

— Josh Stewart (@J0SHSTEWART) May 20, 2015

Try using juvenile!

Which of the following words is a synonym of juvenile?

A. mature
B. youthful
C. experienced
D. older