childish

adjective

child·​ish ˈchī(-ə)l-dish 

1

: of, relating to, or befitting a child or childhood

childish desires for toys

2

a

: marked by or suggestive of immaturity and lack of poise

a childish spiteful remark

b

: lacking complexity : simple

it's a childish device, but it works

c

: deteriorated with age especially in mind : senile

his parents … were both getting childish and needed care

—Pearl Buck

childishly adverb

childishness noun

Synonyms

• adolescent
• babyish
• immature
• infantile
• jejune
• juvenile
• kiddish
• puerile

Examples of childish in a Sentence

She has a childish face.

a letter written in childish scrawl

He opened the gifts with childish delight.

We're tired of their childish games.

I find his humor very childish.

Recent Examples on the Web

Fall is the time of year when Hollywood puts away its childish things to focus on prestige pictures and Oscar bait. —Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023

For Ryan Rivera, that moment is being among a group of preteen boys who set fire to a trash can near their middle school’s atrium, a childish mistake that cast him into the school-to-prison pipeline. —Julia Craven, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2023

Even the National Review and Christianity Today dinged Anthony for his childish and mean-spirited thinking, with its tired echoes of Ronald Reagan’s blame-the-poor rhetoric. —Mikael Wood, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Aug. 2023

King on Screen platforms naïve fanboys who embellish their own childish superstitions. —Armond White, National Review, 18 Aug. 2023

My father, curiously also named Kenny, tolerated these childish tastes while leading by example, passing down to me, without being pushy about it, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, some Grateful Dead, Herbie Hancock. —Justin E. H. Smith, Harper's Magazine, 14 Aug. 2023

As a teenager, there was a phase when Barbie thought her name was childish. —Anne Branigin, Washington Post, 15 July 2023

Futons notoriously get a bad rap for looking cheap, childish (think, college dorms) and unfashionable — when in reality, many of the best futons are just as stylish and comfortable as your everyday sofa. —Good Housekeeping, 21 July 2023

Charity made the right decision, paving the way for the rest of the season without looking back at the childish drama. —Ben Flanagan | [e-mail], al, 18 July 2023

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Word History

Etymology

see child

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

childish

adjective

child·​ish ˈchīl-dish 

1

: of, resembling, or suitable to a child

childish laughter

2

: showing the less pleasing qualities (as silliness) often thought to be those of children

childishly adverb

childishness noun