youthful
Americanadjective
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characterized by youth; young.
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of, relating to, or befitting youth.
youthful enthusiasm.
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having the appearance, freshness, vigor, etc., of youth.
She is 60 but her optimism has kept her youthful.
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in an early period of existence; early in time.
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Physical Geography. (of topographical features) having undergone erosion to a slight extent only.
adjective
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of, relating to, possessing, or characteristic of youth
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fresh, vigorous, or active
he's surprisingly youthful for his age
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in an early stage of development
a youthful culture
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Also: young. (of a river, valley, or land surface) in the early stage of the cycle of erosion, characterized by steep slopes, lack of flood plains, and V-shaped valleys Compare mature old
Related Words
See young.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of youthful
Explanation
Use the adjective youthful to describe someone who is young or who acts as though they are — like your surprisingly youthful grandma, who just signed up for a hiphop dance class and rides her skateboard around the neighborhood. This word is handy for talking about the general characteristics of young people, like youthful energy, youthful stubbornness, or youthful enthusiasm. You might also say someone looks youthful if they appear younger than they are. Someone who acts youthful might enjoy swinging on the swings at the playground, even if they're no longer a kid. At the heart of youthful is youth, "the period between childhood and adulthood."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
India’s youthful population is more interested in domestic consumption—buying cars, houses, and so on—than citizens in export-focused nations like China and Japan.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Some 43% of that youthful cohort reported trading options compared with 10% of those 55 or older.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
That was the first evidence of her youthful side.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
"Restoring a more youthful microbiome can reverse several core features of aging at both the molecular and functional level, including inflammation, fibrosis, mitochondrial decline, telomere attrition, and DNA damage," Dr. Li said.
From Science Daily • May 9, 2026
She’s as old as my grandma, maybe seventy, though there’s something youthful about her, too.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
