childlike

adjective

child·​like ˈchī(-ə)l(d)-ˌlīk 

: resembling, suggesting, or appropriate to a child or childhood

especially : marked by innocence, trust, and ingenuousness

childlike delight

childlikeness noun

Examples of childlike in a Sentence

a grown woman with a childlike face

We gazed at it in childlike wonder.

She took a childlike glee in describing every detail.

Recent Examples on the Web

Trending Viewed together, these works carry a distinctly childlike sense of play, accompanied by a kind of urgent primacy. —Keegan Brady, Rolling Stone, 27 May 2023

The #nofilter Moussa can be disarmingly childlike and offensively straightforward, and Bouajila plays him like a zombie who’s been injected with too much truth serum. —Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Sep. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

childlike

adjective

child·​like ˈchīl(d)-ˌlīk 

1

: resembling, suggesting, or suitable to a child or childhood

2

: showing the more pleasing qualities (as innocence or trustfulness) often thought to be those of children

childlike delight