younger

¹

[yuhng-ger]

adjective

1. comparative of young.

2. (usually initial capital letter),  (used to designate the junior of two related persons bearing the same name).

   Charles the Younger ruled after his father abdicated.

noun

1. the junior of two persons in age (often used with a possessive pronoun).

   Her brother is seven years her younger.

Younger

²

[yuhng-ger]

noun

1. Thomas Coleman Cole, 1844–1916, U.S. outlaw, associated with Jesse James.

Word History and Origins

Origin of younger¹

First recorded before 1000; young ( def. ) + -er ⁴ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The divide is partly generational: pitting some of those personally scarred by a troubled nuclear past against a younger population eager to embrace zero-carbon energy and technological advancement.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His younger sister, Stella Morrow, 13, still feels awkward about grieving what is still tangible but out of reach.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He gushed about her “strong parenting and motherhood and female life element,” portraying her as reaching “younger religious women” with content about “sunscreen and parenting styles and the secret to fixing your period.”

Read more on Salon

Those pressures mean the mindset of the younger generation is changing, "especially when comparing my grandparents' political and economic views to my own", said communications officer Namfon Sirithirath, 30.

Read more on Barron's

Her younger sister might be a candidate for a dupe version of a high-end coat, handbag or pair of sunglasses.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• inconsequential 
• lesser 
• negligible 
• petty 
• secondary 
• slight 
• trivial 
• unimportant