Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not fully grown or developed; young.
  • adjective Of or characteristic of a young animal that has not reached sexual maturity.
  • adjective Characteristic of, intended for, or appropriate for children or young people.
  • adjective Marked by immaturity; childish: synonym: young.
  • adjective Geology Relating to or being water, gas, or a mineral-rich fluid believed to have originated from magma and to have come to the earth's surface for the first time.
  • noun A young person; a child.
  • noun A young animal that has not reached sexual maturity.
  • noun A two-year-old racehorse.
  • noun An actor who plays roles of children or young persons.
  • noun A children's book.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Young; youthful: as, a juvenile manner; a juvenile part in a play.
  • Pertaining or suited to youth: as, juvenile sports or books.
  • Synonyms Boyish, Puerile, etc. See youthful.
  • noun A young person; a youth.
  • noun A book written for young persons or children.
  • noun Theat., an actor who plays youthful parts:

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A young person or youth; -- used sportively or familiarly.
  • adjective Young; youthful.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to youth.
  • adjective Characteristic of children; immature; childish; puerile; infantile.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective young; not fully developed
  • adjective characteristic of youth or immaturity; childish
  • noun a prepubescent child
  • noun a person not legally of age, or who is younger than may be charged with an offence
  • noun an animal that is not sexually mature
  • noun an actor playing a child's role

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a young person, not fully developed
  • adjective displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity
  • adjective of or relating to or characteristic of or appropriate for children or young people

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin iuvenīlis, from iuvenis, young; see yeu- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin iuvenilis, from iuvenis ("young")

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Examples

Comments

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  • Giovanile, in Italian, is used to describe a person that looks younger than he/she really is. It usually has the opposite effect: remarking the actual age of the person.

    March 28, 2009