PUERILE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does puerile mean? 

• PUERILE (adjective)
  The adjective PUERILE has 2 senses:

1. of or characteristic of a child

2. displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity

  Familiarity information: PUERILE used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PUERILE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or characteristic of a child

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

puerile breathing

Pertainym:

child (a human offspring (son or daughter) of any age)

Derivation:

puerility (a property characteristic of a child)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity

Synonyms:

adolescent; jejune; juvenile; puerile

Context example:

puerile jokes

Similar:

immature (characteristic of a lack of maturity)

Derivation:

puerility (the state of a child between infancy and adolescence)

 Context examples 

This puerile feature in a nature which was conspicuously manly had often given rise to comment and conjecture.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A puerile tear dimmed my eye while I looked—a tear of disappointment and impatience; ashamed of it, I wiped it away.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)