juvenile

[joo-vuh-nl, -nahyl]

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable or intended for young persons.

   juvenile books.

2. young; youthful.

   juvenile years.

3. immature; childish; infantile.

   His juvenile tantrums are not in keeping with his age.

noun

1. a young person; youth.

2. Theater.

   1. a youthful male or female role.

   2. an actor or actress who plays such parts.

3. a book for children.

4. Ornithology.,  a young bird that has its first set of contur feathers.

5. a two-year-old racehorse.

juvenile

/ ˈdʒuːvɪˌnaɪl /

adjective

1. young, youthful, or immature

2. suitable or designed for young people

   juvenile pastimes

3. (of animals or plants) not yet fully mature

4. of or denoting young birds that have developed their first plumage of adult feathers

5. geology occurring at the earth's surface for the first time; new

   juvenile water

   juvenile gases

noun

1. a juvenile person, animal, or plant

2. an actor who performs youthful roles

3. a book intended for young readers

Other Word Forms

• juvenilely adverb
• prejuvenile adjective
• unjuvenile adjective
• juvenileness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of juvenile¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin juvenīlis “youthful,” equivalent to juven(is) “youthful” + -īlis adjective suffix; -ile

Word History and Origins

Origin of juvenile¹

C17: from Latin juvenīlis youthful, from juvenis young

Synonym Study

See young.

Example Sentences

Speaking only about the good prevents us from doing better and leads to a juvenile worldview that’s sadly taken hold in the White House and beyond.

From Los Angeles Times

The juvenile then flew off to Jackie and Shadow’s nest in a Jeffrey pine tree overlooking Big Bear Lake, where a camera offered a closer view of the raptor.

From Los Angeles Times

Bonta is now seeking to take over the county’s juvenile halls after the probation department failed to honor its settlement with the state.

From Los Angeles Times

Neither juvenile ingested the pills, and field testing showed them to contain illegal narcotics.

From Salon

But movement in the courts didn't happen until Los Angeles' former top prosecutor re-examined the case and asked for a judge to re-sentence them, citing California's evolving approach to juvenile offenders and abuse survivors.

From BBC

Related Words

• adolescent 
• boy 
• girl 
• infant 
• minor 
• youngster 
• youth 

When To Use

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.