callow
Use Callow in a sentence
oʊ adjective
1.
immature or inexperienced: a callow youth.
2.
(of a young bird) featherless; unfledged.
noun
3.
a recently hatched worker ant.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English, Old English calu bald; cognate with Dutch kaal, German kahl bald, OCS golŭ bare
before 1000; Middle English, Old English calu bald; cognate with Dutch kaal, German kahl bald, OCS golŭ bare
Related forms
cal·low·ness, noun
Synonyms
1. untried, green, raw; naive, puerile, jejune.
1. untried, green, raw; naive, puerile, jejune.
Antonyms
1. mature, adult, experienced.
1. mature, adult, experienced.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To callow
00:10
Callow
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is obtuse. Does it mean:
| unbiased, neutral adj |
| not perceptive |
Collins
World English Dictionary
callow (ˈkæləʊ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | lacking experience of life; immature |
| 2. | rare (of a young bird) unfledged and usually lacking feathers |
| [Old English calu; related to Old High German kalo, Old Slavonic golú bare, naked, Lithuanian galva head, Latin calvus bald] | |
| 'callowness | |
| —n | |
| Callow (ˈkæləʊ) | |
| —n | |
| Simon. born 1949, British actor and theatre director | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
callow
O.E. calu "bare, bald," prob. from W.Gmc. *kalwaz (cf. M.Du. calu, Du. kaal, O.H.G. kalo, Ger. Kahl), perhaps from L. or Celt. From young birds with no feathers, meaning extended to any young inexperienced thing or creature (1570s). Apparently not from L. calvus "bald."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
She finally returns to his arms, but then falls in love with his callow young secretary.
Nicklaus was enthralled the first time he played in the Masters in 1959 as a callow 19-year-old amateur.
Seems the money-hungry merchant's underpaid, callow clerks dream of romance and adventure, too.
Anyway, comments about my callow youthfulness or my "babbling" are more entertaining than anything else.
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