childish

childish
childishly, adv.childishness, n.
/chuyl"dish/, adj.
1. of, like, or befitting a child: childish games.
2. puerile; weak; silly: childish fears.
[bef. 1000; ME childisch, OE cildisc. See CHILD, -ISH1]
Syn. CHILDISH, INFANTILE, CHILDLIKE refer to characteristics or qualities of childhood. The ending -ish often has unfavorable connotations; CHILDISH therefore refers to characteristics that are undesirable and unpleasant: childish selfishness, outbursts of temper. INFANTILE, originally a general word, now often carries an even stronger idea of disapproval or scorn than does CHILDISH: infantile reasoning, behavior. The ending -like has pleasing or neutral connotations; CHILDLIKE therefore refers to the characteristics that are desirable and admirable: childlike innocence, trust.
Ant. mature, adult.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Childish — Child ish (ch[imac]ld [i^]sh), a. 1. Of, pertaining to, befitting, or resembling, a child. Childish innocence. Macaulay. [1913 Webster] 2. Puerile; trifling; weak. [1913 Webster] Methinks that simplicity in her countenance is rather childish than …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • childish — childish, childlike Both words tend now to be used to describe the behaviour of adolescents and adults rather than children. Childish has developed a generally depreciatory meaning ‘having the immature characteristics of a child’, whereas… …   Modern English usage

  • Childish — can refer to: Being in the manner of a child English writer and musician Billy Childish This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to chan …   Wikipedia

  • childish — index frivolous, jejune (lacking maturity), juvenile, naive, puerile Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • childish — O.E. cildisc proper to a child, from CHILD (Cf. child) + ISH (Cf. ish). Meaning puerile, immature, like a child in a bad sense is from early 15c. Related: Childishness …   Etymology dictionary

  • childish — *childlike Analogous words: puerile, boyish, *youthful: *simple, foolish, silly, fatuous, asinine Antonyms: mature, grown up Contrasted words: adult, matured (see MATURE): manly, manful, virile, manlike (see MALE): womanly, womanlike (see FEMALE) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • childish — [adj] immature, silly adolescent, baby, babyish, callow, childlike, foolish, frivolous, green, infantile, infantine, innocent, jejune, juvenile, kid stuff*, naive, puerile, unsophisticated, young, youthful; concepts 401,402,424,578,797 Ant. adult …   New thesaurus

  • childish — ► ADJECTIVE 1) of, like, or appropriate to a child. 2) silly and immature. DERIVATIVES childishly adverb childishness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • childish — [chīl′dish] adj. [ME < OE cildisc: see CHILD & ISH] 1. of, like, or characteristic of a child 2. not fit for an adult; immature; silly SYN. CHILDLIKE childishly adv. childishness n …   English World dictionary

  • Childish — Billy Childish Billy Childish (eigentlich William Charlie Hamper, * 1. Dezember 1959 in Chatham, Kent) ist ein britischer Sänger und Produzent von Independent Rockmusik. Neben seinen musikalischen Projekten betätigt er sich auch als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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