as in childishness
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puerility
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
While social media was, and continues to be, a hotbed of culture-war goofiness, people yelling about lentils in the comments section of Jezebel hardly accounts for the rise of RFK Jr.—
Annie Levin,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
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Johnson delights in playing the role of lovable buffoon in the locker room, but his goofiness has purpose.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Wang specializes in balancing tragedy with mirth (see her award-winning film The Farewell), though Expats plunges deeper into grief and darkness.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
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Ray, by contrast, is a figure of intermittent but undeniable mirth—a citadel of physical perfection whose sublimity occasionally touches the ridiculous.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Later, in a scene of echoing horror and grim hilarity, Pearl is torn from her airplane seat and flung into the night.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Catherine O’Hara portrayed ridiculous eccentrics with equal parts hilarity and humanity.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The director wiped away tears as she was welcomed to the stage at the Eccles with a standing ovation; the crowd continued to clap and cheer as the cast joined her with Tatum picking up his pint-sized co-star to swing her around with glee.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
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When Huskies head coach Dan Hurley called a timeout, a sellout crowd of 19,812 erupted with deafening glee.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
His cheerfulness and laughter often brought strength and refreshment to me in difficult times.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
4 Feb. 2026
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Raines replied, her usual cheerfulness stepping up a notch.—
Rebecca Boone,
Fortune,
29 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Puerility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puerility. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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