as in inexperienced
lacking in adult experience or maturity
a story about a callow youth who learns the value of hard work and self-reliance
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Recent Examples of callow
At a moment when American architecture was caught between an exhausted Modernism and a callow Postmodernism, Frank Gehry showed the way forward.
—
Martin Filler, The New York Review of Books, 12 Dec. 2025
The callow striver Redmond Barry is played by 1970s heartthrob Ryan O’Neal, in one of his best performances, a reluctant conscript in the British army after leaving his Irish home in disgrace.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025
But obviously, these days, that’s a feeling that isn’t exclusive to just callow indie kids.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2025
The two performers effortlessly convey their characters’ callow charm, and there’s a disarming lack of to-do in the way Uttapa, at the center of the story, rides its tonal shifts as Olmo faces moments of awakening, both sublime and potentially shattering.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for callow
Martin Filler, The New York Review of Books, 12 Dec. 2025
The callow striver Redmond Barry is played by 1970s heartthrob Ryan O’Neal, in one of his best performances, a reluctant conscript in the British army after leaving his Irish home in disgrace.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025
But obviously, these days, that’s a feeling that isn’t exclusive to just callow indie kids.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2025
The two performers effortlessly convey their characters’ callow charm, and there’s a disarming lack of to-do in the way Uttapa, at the center of the story, rides its tonal shifts as Olmo faces moments of awakening, both sublime and potentially shattering.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for callow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for callow
Adjective
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The team overachieved this season partly because Mazzulla turned an inexperienced supporting cast into a strength.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
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Short selling can be an intellectually demanding approach to the market, and many inexperienced traders fall into a trap, lured by overvaluation and hype.—
David Capablanca,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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Thiel’s vision of tech saving the world through unloosed, Saruman-style AI industrialists would be far more compelling if so many of these tech giants were not such strangely immature and insecure people.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
26 May 2026
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Reimer, for his part, observed that, in many cases, governance is immature.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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Her ex-husband is suing her for custody of their adolescent daughter, with the intention of moving them both from Queens, New York to Boise, Idaho.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
20 May 2026
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Without adolescent uptake, tobacco cannot find new users.—
Katharine Silbaugh,
STAT,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
The 2018-25 Red Sox didn’t have a single pitcher younger than 25 who could pitch seven scoreless innings.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
28 May 2026
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Guerin would likely be looking at one of the Sabres’ three young centers in Noah Östlund, Konsta Helenius and Jiri Kulich.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Callow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/callow. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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