puerile

[ pyoo-er-il, -uh-rahyl, pyoor-il, -ahyl ]

/ ˈpyu ər ɪl, -əˌraɪl, ˈpyʊər ɪl, -aɪl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR puerile ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to a child or to childhood.

childishly foolish; immature or trivial: a puerile piece of writing.

Nearby words

puducherry, puebla, pueblo, pueblos, puericulture, puerile, puerilism, puerility, puerpera, puerperal, puerperal eclampsia

Origin of puerile

1650–60; < Latin puerīlis boyish, equivalent to puer boy + -īlis -ile

SYNONYMS FOR puerile

1 youthful, juvenile.

2 juvenile, silly.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR puerile ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspu·er·ile·ly, adverbnon·pu·er·ile, adjectivenon·pu·er·ile·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for puerile

The results were strange, compelling, puerile, trashy and slightly brilliant—laser-targeted towards young Israeli males.
Israel’s Sperm Clinic Crisis|Alastair Sloan|March 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This eight-minute piece of puerile propaganda features the warm and winning voice of Ed Asner.
Tax-the-Rich Obama Fairy Tale Won’t Magically Restore Public Services|Michael Medved|December 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But for these two puerile sports fans, the evening was almost as much about the play-by-play as how things turned out.
Forget the Electoral College—Who Won the Battle of the Neckties?|Blake Gopnik|November 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
So I simply focused on another British movie star who has depended on his juvenile appeal and not his puerile one.
Daniel Radcliffe, Dark Prince|Kevin Sessums|July 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST

It would be puerile to state that King George loves France; the frequency of his visits makes the fact too obvious.
Their Majesties as I Knew Them|Xavier Paoli
How diminutive and puerile must seem the houses and cities of human fashioning!
The Log of the Sun|William Beebe
He would then see that the opinions of theologians are not so puerile as he supposes.
Modern Skepticism|C. J. Ellicott
He has a good will to Socrates, whose talents he evidently admires, while he censures the puerile use which he makes of them.
Gorgias|Plato
Her piety was not free from puerile pleasures; for everything, even religion, was poetry to her ingenuous heart.
Honorine|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for puerile

puerile

/ (ˈpjʊəraɪl) /

adjective

exhibiting silliness; immature; trivial

of or characteristic of a child

Derived Formspuerilely, adverbpuerility (pjʊəˈrɪlɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for puerile

C17: from Latin puerīlis childish, from puer a boy

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 puerile

puerile

adj.

1660s, "youthful, boyish," a back-formation from puerility, or else from French puéril (15c.), from Latin puerilis "boyish; childish," from puer "boy, child" (see puerility). Disparaging sense, "juvenile, immature," is from 1680s.

puerile

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of puerile

Examples from the Web for puerile

British Dictionary definitions for puerile

puerile

adjective

Word Origin for puerile

Word Origin and History for puerile

puerile