Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or suitable for a child or childhood.
- adjective Marked by or indicating a lack of maturity; puerile: synonym: young.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of or belonging to a child or to childhood: as, “sweet childish days,” Wordsworth, To a Butterfly.
- Like or characteristic of a child or what is peculiar to childhood; especially, in disparaging use, trifling, puerile, silly, weak, etc.: as, childish amusements; childish fear.
- Synonyms Childlike, Infantile, etc. See
childlike .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of, pertaining to, befitting, or resembling, a child.
- adjective Puerile; trifling; weak.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of or suitable for a
child . - adjective Behaving
immaturely .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective indicating a lack of maturity
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Marco Reininger, a veteran and political science major at Columbia, wrote on The Huffington Post that, despite what he called the childish catcalls that greeted Maschek, the institution as a whole is neither as elitist nor as condescending as the media firestorm suggests.
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With tear-filled eyes, my younger siblings and I waved goodbye as one by one the older kids deserted us and what they termed our childish ways.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living Catholic Faith Jack Canfield 2008
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With tear-filled eyes, my younger siblings and I waved goodbye as one by one the older kids deserted us and what they termed our childish ways.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living Catholic Faith Jack Canfield 2008
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Percy, who disapproved of what he termed their childish behavior, didn't spend much time in the Gryffindor common room.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Rowling, J. K. 1999
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At a private meeting at which only he, Ibn Sa'ud and I were present, he lost all patience over what he called the childish attitude of Ibn Sa'ud in his tribal boundary idea.
The Gulf War Reconsidered Draper, Theodore H. 1992
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Both have, however, one common ground on which they become indistinguishable, -- that region of the supernatural which is most primitive and most vague; and the closest relation between the savage and the civilized fancy may be found in the fears which we call childish, -- of darkness, shadows, and things dreamed.
Two Years in the French West Indies Lafcadio Hearn 1877
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Certainly the French father might have followed the custom of his class and country, and coerced his young daughter into the acceptance of any husband he might have chosen for her; but he did not feel disposed to use harsh measures with his only and idolized child; he rather preferred to exercise patience and forbearance toward her, until she should have outlived what he called her childish caprices.
The Lost Lady of Lone Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth 1859
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He'd like to use the word "childish" but feels it's too harsh.
The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Ont. BEVERLEY SMITH Mississauga 2011
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He'd like to use the word "childish" but feels it's too harsh.
The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed BEVERLEY SMITH 2011
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Blagojevich also apologized to his family, his brother, and for his "self-absorbed behavior," which he called "childish and petty."
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Jack Conaty 2011
chained_bear commented on the word childish
"Joe Wilson is your pre-existing condition." A nice counterpoint to the Chuck Norris legends, I thought.
September 10, 2009