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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity
the kind of puerile jokes that teenage moviegoers apparently love
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of puerile
The reflexive response to the sight of André Onana standing, yet again, with his head bowed and his shoulders slumped after Manchester United’s gloriously puerile draw with Galatasaray on Wednesday is sympathy.
—
Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023
Trump is, always and forever, a puerile bully, stuck perpetually on the fifth-grade playground.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024
The inexplicable twists are interspersed with puerile action scenes.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2024
Hoping to usurp him from the throne, Kuzco's advisor, Yzma (Eartha Kitt), cooks up a plot to poison the puerile figurehead.
—Devin Nealy, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for puerile
Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023
Trump is, always and forever, a puerile bully, stuck perpetually on the fifth-grade playground.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024
The inexplicable twists are interspersed with puerile action scenes.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2024
Hoping to usurp him from the throne, Kuzco's advisor, Yzma (Eartha Kitt), cooks up a plot to poison the puerile figurehead.
—Devin Nealy, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for puerile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puerile
Adjective
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The childish use of vulgar profanity simply leads peoople to view the speaker as being unable to express his/her view.—
Letters to the editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2025
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One standout was Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen running around the palace like a childish tyrant.—
Bill Desowitz,
IndieWire,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This doesn’t sound like their mess to clean up, and just sounds a bit immature/entitled.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
26 Apr. 2025
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Children and adults pick up an avalanche of unreliable information on social media, and children may process it with immature judgment.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Comments Since Sesame Street first began airing in 1969, children have loved it thanks to the goofy, kind, funny, affectionate Muppets—including Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and the rest of the residents of the neighborhood.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
24 Apr. 2025
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Pair over Bluetooth, drop a shot into the app, add a collage frame or goofy sticker, and in half a minute, a wide-format print pops out.—
Shubham Yewale,
PC Magazine,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Starring Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney as the sparring, intellectual parents to two adolescent sons (Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline), The Squid and the Whale responds to some of Baumbach’s own experiences as a product of divorce in the 1980s.—
Marley Marius,
Vogue,
30 Apr. 2025
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One of the main jobs of the adolescent human is to pull away from their parents in preparation for adulthood.—
Cyndy Etler,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But silly things like feelings and mental health don't matter to rebellion leader Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård), who wants results at any cost.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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This is one where the visual spectacle and weird fourth-wall-breaking sections stand head and shoulders above everything else, making for an extremely memorable adventure that embraces the silly side of Doctor Who.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Both Mike and Harriet were juvenile commissioners assigned by the city of San Francisco to mentor boys and girls.—
Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley,
CBS News,
4 May 2025
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Related Stories The result is a passably diverting curio that remains on the level of juvenile fantasy adventure, but with gratuitous elements inappropriate for younger viewers.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
2 May 2025
Adjective
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Art Across Boundaries Since a young age, Yi Ming has been passionate about the power the visual arts possess to transcend not only philosophical and disciplinary boundaries, but also cultural and national borders.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
24 Apr. 2025
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Under the leadership of veteran head coach Sean Payton and young quarterback Bo Nix, Ware is confident that the Broncos can take the leap from being just a playoff team into an elite one.—
DJ Siddiqi,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Another recommendation: Attacking Trump’s character, however abhorrent critics may find it, is futile.—
Garry Kasparov,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
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Regardless, returning him would be futile, said the president’s aides, as his ultimate fate would be imprisonment, in the United States or elsewhere.—
Michael Wilner,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Puerile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puerile. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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