puerile

adjective

ˈpyu̇(-ə)r-əl How to pronounce puerile (audio)
Definition of puerilenext
1
as in childish
having or showing the annoying qualities (as silliness) associated with children told the teenagers that such puerile behavior would not be tolerated during the ceremony

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in immature
lacking in adult experience or maturity allowed the company to be taken over by a bunch of puerile whippersnappers fresh out of business school

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity the kind of puerile jokes that teenage moviegoers apparently love

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 puerile Mozart, however, isn’t merely a puerile rascal, as his relationship with Lauren Worsham’s Constanze reveals. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026 The latter’s taste for puerile subject matter and sing-song melodies plays into Swords2’s homage to early-’90s emo. — Jude Noel, Pitchfork, 10 Jan. 2026 The book, which has a decidedly feminist bent, becomes a surprise best-seller, and soon Penelope finds herself in Hollywood, surrounded by blowhard executives and puerile male screenwriters who want to adapt her work into a blockbuster. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026 The Twits are so gross and puerile and nasty in the book. — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for puerile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puerile
  1. childish
  2. immature
  3. goofy
  4. adolescent
  5. inexperienced
  6. silly
  7. juvenile
  8. young
Adjective
  • Their ideas about it were often steeped in stereotypes suggesting that Buddhists were irrational and childish in their thinking.
    — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 July 2026
  • While there is absolutely nothing childish about the property, there are crib and highchairs available, children’s menus at the hotel’s restaurant, and babysitting services that can be arranged through a third party.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 July 2026
Definition of childish
Adjective
  • The majority of the pest detections have been of immature life stages of the insect such as egg masses.
    — Lizzie Kane July 9, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026
  • From the first whistle, the Americans looked too clumsy, disconnected and immature to compete for the World Cup quarterfinals berth.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2026
Definition of immature
Adjective
  • The film appears to mark a departure from Impacciatore’s recent roles that are imbued in her goofy, exuberant persona.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 9 July 2026
  • His core driving philosophy is love in all its variety — from darkest depths to goofiest heights, always delivered with desperation.
    — Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
Definition of goofy
Adjective
  • Additionally, occasional rule-breaking and defiance are considered a normal part of child and adolescent development.
    — Elizabeth Dowdell, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
  • Ultimately, this visible lump is a permanent record of a hormonal change, primarily designed to be heard, reflecting the body's adolescent effort to project a larger presence.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of adolescent
Adjective
  • Hillmann said that the high percentage of inexperienced foreigners today makes the Pamplona bull runs particularly dangerous.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 July 2026
  • Leaders in at least three counties have publicly spoken out against Alfonso as being too inexperienced for the job and questioned Duffy’s influence.
    — Scott Bauer, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
Definition of inexperienced
Adjective
  • Sevigny holds firm to Tatum’s hard-to-love jerkishness, which helps smooth over the serious arguments that can turn inadvertently silly (and amplifies the purely silly ones).
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 July 2026
  • The post also included a sweet selfie with her two younger sons, with Mateo smiling widely and Ciro making a silly face for the camera.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
Definition of silly
Adjective
  • The pipe burst released about 130 million gallons of water, trapped several workers, killed hundreds of juvenile Chinook salmon and damaged the New Colgate Powerhouse.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 3 July 2026
  • One of the e-bike riders, a juvenile boy, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and died shortly thereafter, the release said.
    — Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 3 July 2026
Definition of juvenile
Adjective
  • Be vigilant about never leaving young children and pets in vehicles without supervision, especially during periods of intense heat, as car interiors can quickly become extremely hot.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 9 July 2026
  • As the sounds of fighting increased nearby, Al-Zaharnah decided to leave with his wife and youngest son.
    — Bilal Shbeir, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
Definition of young

Browse Nearby Words

pudgy
puerile
puerility
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Puerile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puerile. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on puerile

Nglish: Translation of puerile for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fulcrum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All