as in immature
having or showing the annoying qualities (as silliness) associated with children
you almost spoiled the ceremony for everyone with your childish giggling
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 childish
These people are so childish and petty.
—
U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2026
Maybe this is just appealing to my simplest, most childish instincts, reacting to bright colours like a toddler might.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
When Smith drives us in the golf cart, hunched close to the wheel, a look of childish mischief spreads over his face.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
The ensuing power struggle between Woody and Buzz threatens to put their owner’s childish things away forever in Pixar’s debut feature.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for childish
U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2026
Maybe this is just appealing to my simplest, most childish instincts, reacting to bright colours like a toddler might.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
When Smith drives us in the golf cart, hunched close to the wheel, a look of childish mischief spreads over his face.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
The ensuing power struggle between Woody and Buzz threatens to put their owner’s childish things away forever in Pixar’s debut feature.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for childish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for childish
Adjective
-
Adults have a waxy cottony-looking coating, while immature bugs are smaller but similar.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The film’s vintage patina doesn’t detract from rising actor Will Price’s confident performance as an immature mobster who prefers bitcoin to stacks of Benjamins.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Derry Girls, which followed teens in McGee’s native Derry in the years preceding 1998’s Good Friday Agreement, was a raucous, joke-dense show that juxtaposed mundane adolescent rites of passage with the daily horrors of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
-
The scale of underage wagering is hard to measure, but a recent survey of 1,017 adolescent boys nationwide, found 36% gambled in the last year.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
These victories include an insulin co-pay cap, new money for public schools, lowering the cost of health care and child care, opening up mental health programs, connecting young adults to job opportunities, and reforming our juvenile justice system.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
For the new study, Yun and her colleagues removed the thymus from several juvenile axolotls.—
Taylor Mitchell Brown,
Scientific American,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Childish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/childish. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
