callow

adjective

ˈka-(ˌ)lō How to pronounce callow (audio)
Definition of callownext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of callow Aside from the New York Giants’ capitalizing on John Harbaugh’s sudden availability, the most memorable parts of this period will be owners behaving like amateurs in public and then defaulting to their callow and superficial hiring practices. — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026 The younger versions of Noah and Allie, callow and skittish, are laid out in broad strokes. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026 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 Through it all, Marty remains a fundamentally callow character. — Peter Debruge, Variety, 1 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for callow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for callow
  1. inexperienced
  2. immature
  3. adolescent
  4. young
Adjective
  • There will be no lifeguards, and county rangers caution that the beach, like many along the Northern California coast, can have rip currents that pose a threat to inexperienced swimmers.
    — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • So Harbaugh created this competition of two inexperienced kickers.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of inexperienced
Adjective
  • In the first stage, 3 to 6 months in a mouse [about 20 to 30 years in a human], there is a loss of certain fat and muscle cells, and of two immature cell types in the brain that have the capacity to regenerate different types of brain tissue.
    — Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The science remains too immature to show whether such behavior is inevitable, Hobbhahn says.
    — Chris Stokel-Walker, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of immature
Adjective
  • Once dismissed as overly sweet, hyper-feminine, or adolescent, the best gourmand fragrances have since evolved.
    — Danielle James, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2026
  • If developmental science justifies treating adolescent offenders differently from adults, then that same science should also inform how Connecticut recognizes, protects, and supports adolescent victims.
    — Keith Wortz, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of adolescent
Adjective
  • Prince Harry was already set to be in Britain next month for an annual ceremony run by WellChild, a charity that cares for seriously ill children and young people in the UK.
    — Max Foster, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The tinted windows looked out onto the courts where Richardson trained some of the best young female players in the Rio Grande Valley, but the glass was one-way, and from outside, nothing that happened in the room was visible.
    — Molly Hensley-Clancy, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of young

Browse Nearby Words

call out
callow
callowness
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Cite this Entry

“Callow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/callow. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of callow for Spanish Speakers

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