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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
/ ˈːɪˌԲɪ /
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
- ˈܱˌԾԱ, noun
- ˈܱˌԾ, adverb
Other Word Forms
- v·Ծ· adverb
- ·v·Ծ adjective
- ܲ·v·Ծ adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of juvenile1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
County, which ran dozens of facilities that confined and cared for juveniles, the law kickstarted a deluge of litigation that still hasn’t stopped.
And while that is ultimately to the detriment of the rest of us, it is still cause for laughter because it is blatantly obvious and so extremely juvenile.
She spent time in a juvenile detention center.
Shark lab researchers say they have a mountain of tracking data that shows juvenile great whites, some as long as nine feet, routinely cruise among Southern California swimmers and surfers with no apparent interest.
During Easter week, the pope chose to perform the traditional washing of others’ feet in a facility for juvenile delinquents.
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More About Juvenile
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 ܱī, 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 … ?
are some other forms related to juvenile?
- juvenilely (adverb)
- juvenileness (noun)
- prejuvenile (adjective)
- unjuvenile (adjective)
are some synonyms for juvenile?
are some words that share a root or word element with juvenile?
are some words that often get used in discussing juvenile?
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 😊🦈🙌 Happy Cinco de Mayo y'all
— Great White Montauk (@SharkMontauk)
My life was wild as a juvenile
— Dre (@dre_hefamous)
Twitter. The home of some great things, shameless pick-ups and juvenile insults.
— Josh Stewart (@J0SHSTEWART)
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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