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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of puerile
Even if TikTok really is shut down in the United States by the end of the month, capping at least one spigot of puerile content, the damage will have been done.
—
Helen Holmes, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
Lamar and his family, in this reading, are Edenic figures, inaugurating a new sort of American iconography, descended from Wood and Parks but breaking from them as well, born from the aftermath of a great—if also sometimes regrettably puerile—battle.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 July 2024
Trump’s supporters turn the tables on his puerile critics.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for puerile
Helen Holmes, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
Lamar and his family, in this reading, are Edenic figures, inaugurating a new sort of American iconography, descended from Wood and Parks but breaking from them as well, born from the aftermath of a great—if also sometimes regrettably puerile—battle.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 July 2024
Trump’s supporters turn the tables on his puerile critics.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for puerile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puerile
Adjective
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She’s fallen under the sway of a fashionable worldview in which logic is paramount, and the realm of emotion and magic and even dæmons is just childish fancy.—
Lev Grossman,
The Atlantic,
23 Oct. 2025
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Back then, some of my actions were definitely a little childish, for sure.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Noah's sister-in-law Esther (Jackie Tohn), the Jewish character portrayed most insultingly last year, has thankfully been softened and refined, and has somehow become the lone voice of reason amongst a group of immature idiots.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
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Stem cells are immature cells that have the ability to turn into insulin-producing beta cells and to produce more cells like themselves.—
Tara Haelle,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As Buffy’s bafoonish brother, Dave Sheridan played an unlikely killer (though Doofy ends up being far less goofy than originally expected).—
Skyler Trepel,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Oct. 2025
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The accompanying video, directed by Charlotte Rutherford, fittingly harkens back to videos of the same era, as Puth embarks on a goofy adventure through a pre-digital world filled with charming claymation figurines and old-school stop motion effects.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Biden Administration's contrary position depended on the obvious fallacy that providing testosterone to treat a boy's endocrine disorder is the 'same treatment' as using the drug to disrupt the normal physical development of an adolescent girl suffering from psychological distress.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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Did an adolescent Bruce really have to walk into bars and collect his father, at the urging of his mother?—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But let’s face it, the Red Wings have looked a bit inexperienced at times so far, too.—
Max Bultman,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
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The helmers cycle through a year’s worth of seasons for Zhenya and Anatolij Pilipenko, inexperienced farmers who envisioned a new life for themselves and their two young daughters.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Go through a corn maze, sip on apple cider, and take silly pictures with the cardboard cutouts.—
Kylie Petty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
25 Oct. 2025
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This separation keeps parents' Discover Weekly and Wrapped playlists clean from unexpected surprises like a sudden obsession with gaming soundtracks or silly meme songs.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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According to the outlet, Sears was airlifted to a hospital following injuries sustained in the crash, while a juvenile passenger sitting in the back was also taken for medical treatment.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
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Today, much of the building sits empty in north Charlotte, and local teenagers charged with crimes are sent to a state juvenile facility in Cabarrus County.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, offers food benefits, breastfeeding services and nutrition education to 65,000 Arkansas women, infants and children younger than five.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Oct. 2025
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Every young solo traveler should heed these nine tips.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Puerile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puerile. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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