childish
Americanadjective
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of, like, or befitting a child.
childish games.
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puerile; weak; silly.
childish fears.
adjective
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in the manner of, belonging to, or suitable to a child
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foolish or petty; puerile
childish fears
Related Words
Childish, infantile, childlike refer to characteristics or qualities of childhood. The ending -ish often has unfavorable connotations; childish therefore refers to characteristics that are undesirable and unpleasant: childish selfishness, outbursts of temper. Infantile, originally a general word, now often carries an even stronger idea of disapproval or scorn than does childish: infantile reasoning, behavior. The ending -like has pleasing or neutral connotations; childlike therefore refers to the characteristics that are desirable and admirable: childlike innocence, trust.
Other Word Forms
- childishly adverb
- childishness noun
- overchildish adjective
- overchildishly adverb
- overchildishness noun
- unchildish adjective
- unchildishly adverb
- unchildishness noun
Etymology
Origin of childish
First recorded before 1000; Middle English childisch, Old English cildisc; child + -ish 1
Explanation
If you act immature or bratty, you're being childish. A childish dinner guest might pout because you didn't make dessert. While the adjective childish is sometimes used to simply mean "like a child," it's more common to use childlike in this way. When your teacher comments that your chattering during class is childish behavior, she means that you're acting as juvenile as a four year old child. This negative implication has been attached to childish since the 15th century. The word comes from the Old English cildisc, "proper to a child."
Vocabulary lists containing childish
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The childish scribbling handwriting is also a red herring for some of the more serious and sinister themes in the book, “ says Cash.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
It is unseemly, it is childish, and it is thoroughly un-American.
From Slate • Dec. 20, 2025
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo condemned the MPs' actions as "childish", adding that lawmakers should set an example of proper conduct.
From BBC • Dec. 16, 2025
“His pictures,” Barnes wrote, “have the charm of a child’s fairy-tale, but there is nothing childish or untutored in the skill with which they are executed.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025
She’d wanted to be very grown up and logical, but she couldn't stop her voice from sounding whiny and childish.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
