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juvenile - 8 dictionary results

ju⋅ve⋅nile

  [joo-vuh-nl, -nahyl]
Use juvenile in a Sentence
–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
4. a young person; youth.
5. Theater.
a. a youthful male or female role.
b. an actor or actress who plays such parts.
6. a book for children.
7. Ornithology. a young bird in the stage when it has fledged, if altricial, or has replaced down of hatching, if precocial.
8. a two-year-old racehorse.
Origin:
1615–25; < L juvenīlis youthful, equiv. to juven(is) youthful + -īlis -ile

Related forms:
ju⋅ve⋅nile⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. See young.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ju·ve·nile   (jōō'və-nīl', -nəl)   
adj.  
  1. Not fully grown or developed; young.
  2. Of, relating to, characteristic of, intended for, or appropriate for children or young people: juvenile fashions.
  3. Marked by immaturity; childish: juvenile behavior. See Synonyms at young.
n.  
    1. A young person; a child.
    2. A young animal that has not reached sexual maturity.
  2. An actor who plays roles of children or young persons.
  3. A children's book.

[Latin iuvenīlis, from iuvenis, young; see yeu- in Indo-European roots.]
ju've·nile'ly adv., ju've·nile'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Juvenile

Ju"ve*nile\ (?; 277), a. [L. juvenilis, from juvenis young; akin to E. young: cf. F. juv['e]nile, juv['e]nil. See Young.]

1. Young; youthful; as, a juvenile appearance. "A juvenile exercitation." --Glanvill.

2. Of or pertaining to youth; as, juvenile sports.

Syn: Puerile; boyish; childish. See Youthful.

Juvenile

Ju"ve*nile\, n. A young person or youth; -- used sportively or familiarly. --C. Bront['e].
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : juvenile
Spanish: juvenil,
German: jugendlich;der, *die Jugendliche,
Japanese: 少年・少女の
More Translations »

juvenile 
1625, from L. juvenilis "of or belonging to youth," from juvenis "young person," originally "young" (see young). Hence juvenilia "works of a person's youth" (1622). Juvenile delinquency first recorded 1816.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ju·ve·nile
Pronunciation: 'jü-v&-"nIl, -n&l
Function: noun
: an individual who is under an age fixed by law (as 18 years) at which he or she would be charged as an adult for a criminal act —compare MINOR
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: 1ju·ve·nile
Pronunciation: 'jü-v&-"nIl, -v&n-&l
Function: adjective
1 : physiologically immature or undeveloped
2 : reflecting psychological or intellectual immaturity

Main Entry: 2juvenile
Function: noun
1 : a young person; especially : one below the legally established age (as of 18) of adulthood
2 : a young individual resembling an adult of its kind except in size and reproductive activity
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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