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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Worse, though, than such puerile behavior is what Dhillon embodies: an us-vs.-them attitude that permeates the administration and treats those who didn’t vote for Trump — which is more than half the country — as a target.
—
Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 10 Oct. 2025
Far-right conservatives have periodically dragged this bit of puerile, 19th-century chauvinism into the public square to reassure doubters that patriotism is alive and well.
—Emery J Cummins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
Comparing the two is puerile, even by politicians’ standards.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 15 June 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for puerile
Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 10 Oct. 2025
Far-right conservatives have periodically dragged this bit of puerile, 19th-century chauvinism into the public square to reassure doubters that patriotism is alive and well.
—Emery J Cummins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
Comparing the two is puerile, even by politicians’ standards.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 15 June 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for puerile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puerile
Adjective
-
This sort of behavior is childish and unsophisticated.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
-
These people are so childish and petty.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The film’s vintage patina doesn’t detract from rising actor Will Price’s confident performance as an immature mobster who prefers bitcoin to stacks of Benjamins.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Unlike older drugs, this formula safely accounts for a baby’s immature metabolism.—
Kwesi Akonu Adom Mensah Forson,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Take Danielle Deadwyler, known as a dramatic heavyweight in award-winning projects like Till and The Piano Lesson, who gets to show off her goofier side here as Dylan, a poetry professor who becomes a wary confidante of Greg’s — and often steals the show.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Feb. 2026
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In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Stiller reflects on working with Boone, pulling off that wild stunt, and crafting his goofy character — and reveals what Boone ate for lunch just before flipping all over the stage.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Derry Girls, which followed teens in McGee’s native Derry in the years preceding 1998’s Good Friday Agreement, was a raucous, joke-dense show that juxtaposed mundane adolescent rites of passage with the daily horrors of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
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The scale of underage wagering is hard to measure, but a recent survey of 1,017 adolescent boys nationwide, found 36% gambled in the last year.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
All of Quigley’s challengers are politically inexperienced but impassioned Democrats running to the incumbent’s left.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
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The most common complaints include denying legitimate claims, partnering with inexperienced and unqualified service providers, poor service, and slow response times.—
Sharon Brandwein,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Don’t feel silly asking at the ski shop.—
Moira McCarthy,
Boston Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
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Walker offers this diagnosis himself, leeringly dismissing Pearl as a silly mommy, awash with hormones, mildly and minorly hysterical.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
These victories include an insulin co-pay cap, new money for public schools, lowering the cost of health care and child care, opening up mental health programs, connecting young adults to job opportunities, and reforming our juvenile justice system.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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For the new study, Yun and her colleagues removed the thymus from several juvenile axolotls.—
Taylor Mitchell Brown,
Scientific American,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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There's no exact cause known for the rise in cancers among young people, according to experts, but researchers are trying to figure it out.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
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Meta, TikTok and Snap will be rated on their teen safety efforts amid rising concern about whether the world’s largest social media platforms are doing enough to protect the mental health of young people.—
Queenie Wong,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Puerile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puerile. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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