as in naive
resembling or suggesting a child; like that of a child
a childlike honesty He had a childlike innocence that others found endearing.
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Recent Examples of childlike
How to Make the Halloween Decor Goofy grins and exaggerated eyes add childlike wonder to your Halloween decorating.
—
Kathy Barnes, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2025
The narrator’s faith in this flimsy visual evidence is childlike.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
The popular Bandai Namco childlike-horror franchise Little Nightmares is back and with more disturbances in tow.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
Sprinkled with laughter and childlike energy, this debate explores the pros and cons of both worlds.
—Jordan Owens, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for childlike
Kathy Barnes, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2025
The narrator’s faith in this flimsy visual evidence is childlike.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
The popular Bandai Namco childlike-horror franchise Little Nightmares is back and with more disturbances in tow.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
Sprinkled with laughter and childlike energy, this debate explores the pros and cons of both worlds.
—Jordan Owens, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for childlike
Recent Examples of Synonyms for childlike
Adjective
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Ma’s description of enormous, glistening grocery stores could be explained as the musings of a person who longs for stability and plentitude, or of a naive character who thinks of America as a land of boundless riches.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
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But these juvenile white sharks may be naive to orcas.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The real question is whether genuine mutual interest emerges from those preliminary conversations, many of which will take place in Las Vegas this week.—
Patrick McAvoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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For most of the year, tennis watchers have been bemoaning the lack of a genuine threat to Sinner and Alcaraz, but here Fritz had the latter on the rack.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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That something as simple as a COVID vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Twin Cities,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The interior of the shoe stays true to the brand’s line of classic winter boots, lined with a plush wool blend.—
Melony Forcier,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Nov. 2025
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One mailer in particular said that Persson and fellow Democratic candidates wanted to build apartments on 300 acres of green space, which isn’t true, Persson said.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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This was a golden age for these guys, ten years before Giuliani and any kind of real government crackdown, and a few years after Coppola’s Godfather.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
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The situation for Ridge Holland, who also uses his real name Luke Menzies, has reportedly worsened.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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With the climate crisis only deepening each year, throwing natural cycles and seasons into disarray, Japan is now bracing for future spikes in human-bear encounters each fall and spring.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Systems to better protect oceans, coastal marshes and mangroves will also be on the agenda, as well as an emphasis on the indigenous people who live on and manage much of the world’s natural places.—
Jeff Young,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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For Candy, getting to play the unsophisticated traveling salesman, a big man like himself, gave him an opportunity to showcase both his flair for broad comedy and, for the first time onscreen, his innate vulnerability.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
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And there’s been this story that retail investors are unsophisticated.—
Fortune Editors,
Fortune,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Childlike.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/childlike. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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