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
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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See, the issue here isn’t that a college dude did a dumb, childish thing.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
28 Apr. 2025
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And anybody that thinks otherwise is just being foolish and immature and childish.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 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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Enough to hope incoming Vanderbilt recruit Chandler Bing is ready for some of the goofy questions coming his way and can pivot to basketball.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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Regardless, this will be a goofy offseason, so strap in for a sea of rumors and postulations.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
29 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 many will, in situations where they’re allowed to stretch out, go deep, get silly, or eat hot wings while trying to answer questions.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2025
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Have a Dance Party Clear the furniture, cue up a playlist with all of Mom's favorite hits (and a few silly, kid-friendly jams), and let loose.—
Laura Broadwell,
Parents,
1 May 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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Aiming to better understand the sentiments of young American consumers today, Credit Karma’s survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, polled more than 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older from April 7 to 9.—
Alexandra Pastore,
Footwear News,
5 May 2025
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And this week, younger sister Dory (Melissa Roxburgh) delivered Colter a file box full of Dad’s research on zero point energy — a box that’d previously been left with Lizzy’s mom, a former colleague with whom Ashton had an extramarital affair.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
4 May 2025
Adjective
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These results, though significant, don’t necessarily mean that efforts to effectively mitigate deepfakes are futile.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
30 Apr. 2025
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The similarly futile attempts to portray John Walker as a flawed but good man, despite his callous rage and murderous tendencies?—
Nola Pfau,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Puerile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puerile. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
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