1
as in nonsense
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2
as in inexperience
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of childishness
The childishness of his expressions infantilized a genuinely vicious regime, painting it as more peevish than petrifying.
—
Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
The actor relishes all aspects of Dahl’s childishness, and the humanity within the beast emerges in small moments.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 24 Mar. 2026
Cove, on West Houston Street, does not mark an especially obvious step into maturity or anything narratively pat like that, because McGarry’s cooking and his businesses have never really had so much as a hint of childishness to begin with.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
The gesture’s lack of dignity, its childishness, its pettiness, are completely in character.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 25 Sep. 2025
Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
The actor relishes all aspects of Dahl’s childishness, and the humanity within the beast emerges in small moments.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 24 Mar. 2026
Cove, on West Houston Street, does not mark an especially obvious step into maturity or anything narratively pat like that, because McGarry’s cooking and his businesses have never really had so much as a hint of childishness to begin with.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
The gesture’s lack of dignity, its childishness, its pettiness, are completely in character.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for childishness
Noun
-
Not only is that nonsense, but Israel took this into account.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
17 June 2026
-
Get outta here with that nonsense.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
And his flaws—pride, inexperience—are consequential.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2026
-
The Knicks always weathered the storm and forced the Spurs to face their own youth and inexperience.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Noun
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Oh, but the Padres manager was ready with the joking last night.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 June 2026
-
Still, Yoon’s joking somehow lightens the mood.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
When an audience member posed a hypothetical choice between a flawed but distinctive film and a polished but unremarkable one, Leung said either would do, arguing that cinema’s goal was sincerity, in performance or in a director’s expression, rather than polish.—
Jenny S. Li,
Variety,
20 June 2026
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Just when there are emotional moments of sincerity about healthcare denials causing bankruptcy and even death, the tone shifts with a joke about fan girls sending Mangione their underwear.—
Lorena O’Neil,
Rolling Stone,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
The show, with its interest in corporate buffoonery, doesn’t quite manage to hand-wave away the queasy implications.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Receivers have cratered seasons with me-over-we buffoonery.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Seydoux asks me in a moment of frankness.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
18 May 2026
-
Her love for the city is palpable, imbued with her frankness, her fun, her queerness, and her history.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Hudson showed some subtle support for the jesting knocks to her boyfriend by reposting a clip of his final joke shared on Fox News' official X page.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
18 May 2026
-
No matter what happened, Dunham could not seem to help posting through it, her public persona one of infinite jesting confession.—
Madeline Leung Coleman,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Mary Gaitskill is particularly good at this ideal combination of straightforwardness and pithiness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Her question, in Lipe-Smith’s inquisitive piccolo of a voice, is heartbreaking in its blend of straightforwardness and desperate desire, as is her mother’s wavering response.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Childishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/childishness. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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