Puerile
[PYUHR-ill]
Part of speech: adjective
Origin: Latin, mid-17th century
1.
Showing immaturity; silly or juvenile
2.
Relating to or characteristic of a child
Examples of Puerile in a sentence
"The puerile pranks earned the boys a few weeks detention on top of the punishment their parents gave them."
"The older sister was irritated at being forced to wear a puerile outfit to match her sibling in the family photo."
About Puerile
While puerile can be used to mean anything related to actual children, it’s also used to describe anything immature and childish. Actor Will Ferrell has made a career starring in puerile movies, such as "Zoolander," "Old School," and "Anchorman." Even beloved Christmas movie “Elf” has a juvenile element to the story.
Did you Know?
Puerile is giving boys a bad name. The adjective used to describe something immature, childish, or just altogether silly comes from the Latin word puer, meaning boy. Instead of saying “Boys will be boys,” challenge them to push aside stereotypes and change their puerile behavior.
