as in childishness
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puerility
Noun
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Cove, on West Houston Street, does not mark an especially obvious step into maturity or anything narratively pat like that, because McGarry’s cooking and his businesses have never really had so much as a hint of childishness to begin with.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026 -
The gesture’s lack of dignity, its childishness, its pettiness, are completely in character.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Johnson delights in playing the role of lovable buffoon in the locker room, but his goofiness has purpose.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
2 Jan. 2026
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And follow his skiing adventrues and hilarious goofiness on Instagram at Nick Goepper.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Wang specializes in balancing tragedy with mirth (see her award-winning film The Farewell), though Expats plunges deeper into grief and darkness.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
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Ray, by contrast, is a figure of intermittent but undeniable mirth—a citadel of physical perfection whose sublimity occasionally touches the ridiculous.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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At the film’s center are the lovably gruff duo Flic and Minna, played with precision and stiff-upper-lipped hilarity by newcomers Marni Duggan and Galaxie Clear respectively.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2026
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This is the case with Saturday Night Live, a show that has reached the highest highs and lowest lows of hilarity for half a century.—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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When Huskies head coach Dan Hurley called a timeout, a sellout crowd of 19,812 erupted with deafening glee.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
7 Feb. 2026
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In so doing, Censori and Ye ruined it—to her glee.—
Anna Peele,
Vanity Fair,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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His cheerfulness and laughter often brought strength and refreshment to me in difficult times.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
4 Feb. 2026
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Raines replied, her usual cheerfulness stepping up a notch.—
Rebecca Boone,
Fortune,
29 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Puerility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puerility. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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