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juvenile
[ joo-vuh-nl, -nahyl ]
adjective
- of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable or intended for young persons:
juvenile books.
juvenile years.
His juvenile tantrums are not in keeping with his age.
noun
- a young person; youth.
- Theater.
- a youthful male or female role.
- an actor or actress who plays such parts.
- a book for children.
- Ornithology. a young bird that has its first set of contur feathers.
- a two-year-old racehorse.
juvenile
/ ˈdʒuːvɪˌnaɪl /
adjective
- young, youthful, or immature
- suitable or designed for young people
juvenile pastimes
- (of animals or plants) not yet fully mature
- of or denoting young birds that have developed their first plumage of adult feathers
- geology occurring at the earth's surface for the first time; new
juvenile gases
juvenile water
noun
- a juvenile person, animal, or plant
- an actor who performs youthful roles
- a book intended for young readers
Derived Forms
- ˈjuveˌnileness, noun
- ˈjuveˌnilely, adverb
Other Words From
- juve·nile·ly adverb
- pre·juve·nile adjective
- un·juve·nile adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of juvenile1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
After a juvenile manta ray coasted by, wings flapping, Sasso raised his arms in a mock touchdown celebration.
At first, juvenile and young adult titles were a priority, Potash explains, followed by readers “seeking to comfort, educate, and delight themselves during their shelter-in-place periods.”
Without a standalone juvenile justice department, the state’s responsibilities are limited and scattered across the agency.
In May, Grendell sent Stacy Hartman’s two teenage sons to juvenile detention after they refused a court-ordered visit with their father.
Rattray suspects that the turtles are likely returning to areas they identified during their juvenile “lost years” as good habitats with few predators and lots of food.
A car was indeed dispatched, with no mention that the suspect was possibly a juvenile and that the gun might be a toy.
Officers were responding to a report of a missing juvenile girl, and found her in the house of Carey Smith-Viramontes.
Sixty of those 700 are “juvenile lifers,” men who came in as adolescents and are serving a life term.
I was also the front for a juvenile delinquent roaming the streets of New York City and using me as a parental alibi.
When a 16-year-old takes on that wide-eyed, touched-for-the-very-first-time role, it all comes off as a tad more…juvenile.
I travelled first-class on a pass with my father, and great was my juvenile pride.
Shakespeare was one of her favourite books at this time, and she took delight in juvenile attempts at personifying the characters.
She took more pleasure in her pupils literary efforts, and called him in fun the juvenile Poushkin.
Nothing can be more juvenile or paltry than the works of the native Belgians here exhibited.
Juvenile delinquency itself has been the subject of much research (especially in the United States) during the past fifty years.
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More About Juvenile
What does juvenile mean?
Juvenile describes something that is related to youth or young people.
Generally, juvenile is used to describe something that has to do with children, as in Sam folded the juvenile clothing before he folded the baby clothing.
Juvenile can also describe something that is related to youth or being young, as in Now in her 80s, Hannah looked back fondly on her juvenile years.
Juvenile can also be used to describe something that is related to youth in a negative way, such as being immature or naive, as in Drawing on the walls is juvenile behavior that most parents won’t tolerate.
As a noun, juvenile is a young person, as in The lost driver got directions from the friendly juvenile on the corner.
Jejune is a synonym for juvenile in the sense of something childish or immature. But jejune can also describe something that is bland or uninspiring, as in He wrote a jejune story about making eggs for breakfast.
Example: The author wrote juvenile fiction that was incredibly popular with the country’s children.
Where does juvenile come from?
The first records of juvenile come from around 1615. It comes from the Latin juvenīlis, meaning “youthful.” Often, juvenile is used to mean something that is related to young people or reminds you of youth.
There are lots of words to describe children of various ages. A baby is generally a year old or younger and a preschooler is no more than 5-years-old, while an adolescent or a teenager is often aged 13 to 19. A juvenile, however, can describe any of these ages.
The word juvenile is often used when discussing children who break the law. A juvenile delinquent is a criminal who is a minor, usually younger than 18 years old. Minors are children who are tried in a juvenile court and are sentenced to a juvenile detention center.
Did you know … ?
What are some other forms related to juvenile?
- juvenilely (adverb)
- juvenileness (noun)
- prejuvenile (adjective)
- unjuvenile (adjective)
What are some synonyms for juvenile?
What are some words that share a root or word element with juvenile?
What are some words that often get used in discussing juvenile?
What are some words juvenile may be commonly confused with?
How is juvenile used in real life?
Juvenile is used to refer to children or things related to children. The negative sense is especially common.
Hello to this sweet "little" lady Charlotte! This juvenile white shark measures in at 8.1 ft (2.47 m) and is pinging off of Wilmington, NC! She has travelled 133 miles (214 km) in the last 72 hours 😊🦈🙌 #WildlifeWednesday Happy Cinco de Mayo y'all pic.twitter.com/sa6m7vRSLO
— Great White Montauk (@SharkMontauk) May 5, 2021
My life was wild as a juvenile
— Dre (@dre_hefamous) November 7, 2020
Twitter. The home of some great things, shameless pick-ups and juvenile insults.
— Josh Stewart (@J0SHSTEWART) May 20, 2015
Try using juvenile!
Which of the following words is a synonym of juvenile?
A. mature
B. youthful
C. experienced
D. older
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