Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Like or befitting a child, as in innocence, trustfulness, or candor.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Resembling a child or that which is proper to childhood; becoming to or characteristic of a child; hence, submissive, dutiful, trustful, artless, inexperienced, etc.
- Synonyms Childlike, Childish, Infantile, Infantine. Childlike and childish express that which is characteristic of a child, the former applying to that which is worthy of approbation, or at least does not merit disapproval, and the latter usually to that which is not: as, a childlike freedom from guile; a childish petulance. To express that which belongs to the period of childhood, without qualifying it as good or bad, child or childhood is often used in composition: as, child-toil, childhood-days. Infantile and infantine are applied to the first stages of childhood; no clear distinction between them has yet been established. See youthful.
Wiktionary
- adj. innocent and trustful; credulous; artless
- adj. of, like, or suitable for a child; meek; submissive
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Resembling a child, or that which belongs to children; becoming a child; meek; submissive; dutiful.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. exhibiting childlike simplicity and credulity
- adj. befitting a young child
Etymologies
- child + -like (Wiktionary)
Examples
“All but Violet, who stood amazed, slowly pushing up her Mardi Gras mask to reveal an expression of childlike wonder.”
“The right-hand page shows in childlike handwriting the first lines of his poem “Pastoral”: “The little sparrows/hop ingenuously/about the pavement/quarreling.””
“Shiva: Yes, I think Elfed Lied would be right up your alley, the childlike comes from the Japanese tradition which for the most part, even men don't have facial hair, or much facial hair, but also just the style - I think except for a few characters most of the characters were between 11-18 if that helps.”
Up and down, crash and burn: nightcare to job hunt to darkness
“Old Ebbits looked at me in childlike wonder, while Zilla sneered openly at the absurdity of my question.”
“Ericsen was rubbing his huge hands in childlike glee.”
“Brother Saul -- How beautifully childlike is the obedience of Ananias to”
“And I was dressed according to my mother's fancy, in childlike style, without hoops, and with my hair cropped short all over my head.”
“In this volume religious sublimity is clothed in childlike simplicity.”
“He was frequently described as childlike, vulgar and coarse, in contrast to the pleasant, businesslike manner he once had.”
“He was ageless, his growth stunted from opium and his expression childlike in its emptiness.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘childlike’.
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NTB
chaos, Sagittarius, aether, magic, jester, fool, random, delirium, fire, life, cosmic, riddle and 120 more...
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Noesis
Mind or Mind Altering
example: psychotomimetic
( _mark, personal list, randomness )noetic, entheogen, psychonautics, infinite, bewilderment, mystification, stupefication, enhanced, altered, perception, simulation, network and 204 more...
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miscellany
preposterous, minimalism, outnumbered, subroutine, malinger, oddity, eccentricity, laughable, oxymoronic, interstellar, winter, heedless and 335 more...
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musicality
words about things I love about music
indie, jamming, busking, street musician, gypsy, folk, noise, baroque-pop, lyricism, freak folk, washboard, orchestral and 17 more...
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Pixie
pixie, Cancer, Pisces, sun, bright, paradox, fantasy, bubbles, paint, creativity, imagination, generous and 64 more...
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electricblue's list
them...
creative, just above me at ..., i cant choose jus..., lazy, but how, couldn't, best, everything, allthings, resembling nothin..., practily perfet, not me and 54 more...
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Words I Actually Know...
Tweets
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