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

His daughter mirrored his parvenue of a wife, a woman beneath him not in station but rather in intellect, someone easily affected and prone to childlike ideas. —Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025

Divulging in childlike wonder is my secret to a joyful life, and building Lego sets has become my favorite way to achieve this. —Izzy Baskette, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025

The true key to the film’s success is Ronan herself, who perfectly balances deadly precision with emotional vulnerability—childlike in curiosity but lethal in execution. —Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025

Cecilie Bahnsen’s Asics Mary Jane is ultramodern and childlike all at once, not dissimilar from the Danish designer’s line of romantic, frilly, and poofy, voluminous clothing. —Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 11 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for childlike

• alike
• belike
• birdlike
• catlike
• christlike
• deathlike
• dislike
• dreamlike
• friedreich
• godlike
• hairlike
• homelike

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