Showing results for puerilism. Search instead for puerilisms.

puerilism

American

[pyoo-er-uh-liz-uhm, pyoor-uh-] / ˈpju ər əˌlɪz əm, ˈpjʊər ə- /

noun

Psychiatry.

childishness in the behavior of an adult.

puerilism British

/ ˈpjʊərɪˌlɪzəm /

noun

psychiatry immature or childish behaviour by an adult

"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

Etymology

Origin of puerilism

First recorded in 1920–25; puerile + -ism

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

puerilism

Such reactions, though occasionally given by normal subjects, are more often given by insane ones, and seem to be somewhat characteristic of states of mental deterioration which are clinically rather loosely described as puerilism.

From A Study of Association in Insanity by Kent, Grace Helen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023