callow

[ kal-oh ]

adjective

1. immature or inexperienced:

   a callow youth.

   Synonyms: jejune, puerile, naive, raw, green, unseasoned

   Antonyms: grown-up, experienced, adult, mature

2. (of a young bird) featherless; unfledged.

noun

1. a recently hatched worker ant.

callow

¹

/ ˈkæləʊ /

adjective

1. lacking experience of life; immature
2. rare.
   (of a young bird) unfledged and usually lacking feathers

Callow

²

/ ˈkæləʊ /

noun

1. CallowSimon1949MBritishTHEATRE: actorTHEATRE: theatre directorWRITING: author Simon. born 1949, British actor and theatre director

Derived Forms

• ˈcallowness, noun

Other Words From

• callow·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of callow¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English calu “bald”; cognate with Dutch kaal, German kahl “bald,” Old Church Slavonic golŭ “bare”

Word History and Origins

Origin of callow¹

Old English calu; related to Old High German kalo, Old Slavonic golú bare, naked, Lithuanian galva head, Latin calvus bald

Example Sentences

Quayle’s stricken look — a rictus of shock and humiliation — spoke to the devastation of the rejoinder after which, it’s fair to say, his callow image never fully faded.

From Los Angeles Times

Besides looking callow on offense, they wasted a solid bounce-back outing from starter Emerson Hancock, as well.

From Seattle Times

In a team largely made up of callow youth, Spencer and his fellow underdogs were organised and disciplined and too mentally strong to buckle under the pressure Scotland put on them, which wasn't nearly enough.

From BBC

The song that resulted in this frantic, logistically improbable session is stirring but callow, with a gospel-style chord progression that gives false weight to the platitudinous lyrics.

From New York Times

When Doris complains, her mother scolds her for being a callow narcissist.

From New York Times

Related Words

• inexperienced