childish

adjective

child·ish | \ˈchī(-ə)l-dish

Definition of childish

1 : of, relating to, or befitting a child or childhood childish desires for toys

2a : 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

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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

Such tics may seem childish, but a lot of voters love this stuff. — Simon Shuster / Zurich, Time, "Steve Bannon Takes Trumpism to Europe and Gets a Rock Star's Welcome," 7 Mar. 2018 Both sides have degraded the public trust with petty payback and childish behavior. — kansascity, "Jean Paul Bradshaw," 30 June 2018 Bevin, meanwhile, called McConnell a coward and his campaign childish and also used his daughter to call McConnell a liar in one advertisement. — Darcy Costello, The Courier-Journal, "McConnell once called Bevin a con man. Now he wants Bevin to run again," 1 June 2018 And the first few minutes of Jill Oliver's vulgar, trashy, childish romp reveal unexpected layers of additional idiocy. — Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader, "Adventures of Spirit Force Five," 12 July 2018 This is, alas, the Yahweh of the early Hebrews, a fickle, petulant, seemingly amoral deity whose childish obsession is with proving himself top banana in the pantheon of primitive gods. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: A Depraved and Beautiful Dream of the World," 12 July 2018 Fed up with childish City Hall politics, Flynn did not run again last year. — Jason Williams, Cincinnati.com, "PX column: As always, Kevin Flynn keeps his word, rises out of wheelchair at daughter's wedding," 9 July 2018 For The Washington Free Beacon, there is something childish about Ocasio-Cortez. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is driving conservatives ’round the bend.," 6 July 2018 Eagles stand tall to Trump's childish behavior & builds us up, unites us as one! — Patricia Madej, Philly.com, "Kenney doesn't hold back on Trump after Eagles' canceled White House visit, and gets some new fans," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'childish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

23 Sep 2018

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The first known use of childish was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for childish

childish

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of childish

: of a child or typical of a child; especially : having or showing the unpleasant qualities (such as silliness or lack of maturity) that children often have

See the full definition for childish in the English Language Learners Dictionary

childish

adjective

child·ish | \ˈchīl-dish