youthful

play

adjective youth·ful \ ˈyüth-fəl \

Definition of youthful

1 :of, relating to, or characteristic of youth

youthful inexperience

2 :being young and not yet mature

3 :marked by or possessing youth

youthful dancers

4 :having the vitality or freshness of youth :vigorous

my youthful grandparents

5 :having accomplished or undergone little erosion

youthful mountains

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youthfully

play \ˈyüth-fə-lē\ adverb

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youthfulness

noun

See youthful defined for English-language learners

See youthful defined for kids

Examples of youthful in a Sentence

My grandparents are still very youthful.
it's still a youthful nation with a lot of promise and potential

Recent Examples of youthful from the Web

With a little help from celebrity stylist Samantha McMillen, Fanning’s fashion choices have come up to speed with her leading lady roles, but maintain just enough quirk to appeal to her youthful fan base.

— maria ward, Vogue, "No One Does Novelty Prints Quite Like Elle Fanning," 30 Aug. 2017
Balancing youthful angst, delicate sensitivity and a keen sense of humor is a difficult trick for a songwriter.

— john adamian, courant.com, "Punk Duo Diet Cig At The Ballroom," 30 Aug. 2017
Twenty years later, the memory of Diana — a youthful mother cut down, leaving two children behind — remains vital, her influence still felt.

— gregory katz, The Seattle Times, "Princess Diana’s influence endures 20 years after her death," 26 Aug. 2017
The result is a sweet and affecting story, one that forgoes the awkward moments of teenage romance and offers the possibility of reliving a bit of our youthful amor — if just for the film’s 90-minute running time.

— monica castillo, New York Times, "Review: ‘Tales of an Immoral Couple’: Love Means Having to Grow Up," 24 Aug. 2017
But the guy's fit—despite its youthful leanings looks pretty damn good.

— liza corsillo, GQ, "Brooklyn Beckham Goes to College, David Beckham Dresses Like a Frosh," 24 Aug. 2017
Atlanta Falcons defense/special teams: Immensely talented and youthful; first-time coordinator holds the keys.

— cory bonini, The Courier-Journal, "Fantasy football: The all-sleeper team for 2017," 21 Aug. 2017
Youthful activists brought major thoroughfares to a standstill for 11 weeks to protest Beijing's plan to restrict elections in the semi-autonomous region.

— Bloomberg.com, "Hong Kong Court Sends Activist Joshua Wong to Prison," 17 Aug. 2017
Could Mondesi do this: spell Esky, hit, steal job, provide youthful burst of flavor that carries us to November???

— sam mellinger, kansascity, "Mellinger Minutes: Chiefs game, Royals’ chances, Colin Kaepernick, politics, KU, K-State and Mizzou," 15 Aug. 2017

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

First Known Use of youthful

1557

youthful Synonyms

Synonyms

adolescent, immature, juvenile, youngish, young

Antonyms

adult, grown-up, mature, matured

Related Words

ephebic, minor, preteen, subadult, teenage (or teenaged), underage; embryonic, emergent; callow, green, inexperienced, puerile, raw; babyish, childish, childlike, infantile, infantine, kiddish; undeveloped, unfinished, unfledged, unformed, unripe, unripened; blooming, blossoming, burgeoning, flourishing, flowering

Near Antonyms

aged, aging (or ageing), ancient, elderly, geriatric, long-lived, old, older, oldish, senescent, senior; full-blown, full-fledged; golden, mellow, ripe, ripened; middle-aged; anile, decrepit, doddering, over-the-hill, senile, spavined, tottery

YOUTHFUL Defined for English Language Learners

youthful

play

adjective

Definition of youthful for English Language Learners

: having or showing the freshness or energy of someone who is young
: having or showing the innocence, hope, lack of knowledge, etc., of someone who is young