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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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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of puerile
The whole matter is puerile, and Sheriff Gahler should accept he’s met his match in Cassilly.
—
Aegis Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for puerile
Aegis Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for puerile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puerile
Adjective
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There is something of the rat terrier in her small white face, an intensity that has never seemed childish but unnaturally adult.—
Lizz Schumer,
People.com,
17 June 2025
-
From baby animals to childish drawings, Labubu to Mary Janes, all things cute have entered the mainstream.—
Gemma A. Williams,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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After hatching, the immature cicadas or nymphs spend 17 or 13 years underground, feeding on roots, then emerge during the spring and transform into adult cicadas.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
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And babies younger than six months old—who are ineligible for vaccination because of their immature immune system—have the highest rates COVID hospitalization after adults aged 75 and older.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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Dead Snow, though, bearing a poster that’s as good as the actual film, prides itself on its constant assault of goofy violence.—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
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Despite the lack of bombast, The Alters tells a compelling and heartfelt narrative, with some goofier moments to break up the unrelenting drama.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
14 June 2025
Adjective
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With its whip-smart satire and adolescent vulnerability, the movie catapulted Williamson into the Hollywood spotlight.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
19 June 2025
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Researchers reviewing camera trap footage from a remote island off Panama found that a group of adolescent capuchin monkeys were routinely kidnapping baby howler monkeys and carrying them around like accessories.—
Popular Science Team,
Popular Science,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Jeff: This has been such a silly way to seed the in-season tournament.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
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The director relishes delivering more of the brutal horror sequences that were the first film’s hallmark, but unlike 28 Days Later’s tight, suffocating narrative, here the story is more sprawling — and a whole lot sillier.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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As summer approaches, a juvenile great white shark named Dold has today been detected off the Long Island coastline, marking the latest milestone in a months-long migration that has taken him up the U.S. East Coast.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
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An undercover detective who was posing as a juvenile female was allegedly contacted online by a man later identified as Maynard.—
Staff report,
Hartford Courant,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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But the real treat for me was meeting all these young people who are so extraordinary.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
23 June 2025
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Rowan is a funny, playful, and high-spirited young boy who keeps everyone around him smiling.—
MARE Staff,
Boston Herald,
22 June 2025
Adjective
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The researchers said their findings should not suggest afforestation and carbon offsetting are futile.—
Hayley Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
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And beneath that fear lies a corrosive belief that resistance is futile.—
Elisa Manfredini,
Time,
14 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Puerile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puerile. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
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