1
as in nonsense
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2
as in inexperience
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of childishness
The childishness of his expressions infantilized a genuinely vicious regime, painting it as more peevish than petrifying.
—
Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
9 Apr. 2026
The actor relishes all aspects of Dahl’s childishness, and the humanity within the beast emerges in small moments.
—
Daniel D'addario,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
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
Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
9 Apr. 2026
The actor relishes all aspects of Dahl’s childishness, and the humanity within the beast emerges in small moments.
—
Daniel D'addario,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for childishness
Noun
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Until recently, that would have sounded like absolute nonsense.
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There weren’t meetings with executives about tone and mood and all this nonsense.
Noun
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Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips, two defensive tackles who cut their teeth as starters in their rookie season, can’t blame this upcoming season’s struggles on youth and inexperience because last year’s playing time was an investment made with the intention of speeding up their development.
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Most founder overwhelm is just inexperience without context.
Noun
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Oh, but the Padres manager was ready with the joking last night.
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Still, Yoon’s joking somehow lightens the mood.
Noun
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But in her concentration, Porsha fumbled her words, which made the Faithfuls, who were desperate for a crumb of evidence so early in the game, suspicious of her sincerity.
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Several participants told The Washington Post that they were impressed with the sincerity and humility of the AI firm’s staff in discussing both ethical and spiritual implications.
Noun
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Without Roberts in charge, expect the political and racial buffoonery to creep back into the conversation at ESPN.
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The show, with its interest in corporate buffoonery, doesn’t quite manage to hand-wave away the queasy implications.
Noun
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Seydoux asks me in a moment of frankness.
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Her love for the city is palpable, imbued with her frankness, her fun, her queerness, and her history.
Noun
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Hudson showed some subtle support for the jesting knocks to her boyfriend by reposting a clip of his final joke shared on Fox News' official X page.
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No matter what happened, Dunham could not seem to help posting through it, her public persona one of infinite jesting confession.
Noun
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But the Windows handheld software experience on the Claw is just awful compared to the straightforwardness of SteamOS on the Steam Deck.
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On Monday morning, Starmer, whose resignation has appeared inevitable for some time, delivered the news with his customary straightforwardness.
Cite this Entry
“Childishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/childishness. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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