juvenile

adjective more juvenile · most juvenile

1. Young; not fully developed. There are certain Climates, where the Mind ripens and attains ſooner to Perfection than in others: nay there are ſome Conſtitutions of Body, where the humours are ſo exactly mixt, that they form an admirable Temper; the Effects thereof are diſcoverable in the firſt Juvenile Years, and leave very fin
2. Characteristic of youth or immaturity; childish. Adde to this diſsipated and diſtracted ſtate of Miniſters, their private diſtreſſes and poverties, together with the publick neglect and indifferency of people toward them; who can wonder if they look pitifully one on another, which no jocoſe or juvenile drolings can relieve?

   Similar: infantile, juvey, puerile, babish, babyish, bairnish, childish, dootsie, hissy, lactifluous, infantine, immature

Opposite: adult, mature, nonjuvenile, old, senile

noun American actress Maude Adams playing the juvenile role of Peter Pan on Broadway · sense 5 · sense 6 · juveniles

1. A prepubescent child. One patient, a pedophile with a long history of arrests, penal incarceration, psychiatric admissions, and outpatient psychotherapy, commented that in the past when he saw a juvenile male playing, he (the patient) would without hesitation approach the boy and make a sexual proposition. When he was on
2. A person younger than the age of majority; a minor. Every childhood seems to have exactly such a juvenile in its midst and mists. He's the boy who refuses to fear the opposite sex, purely because everyone else embraces that particular fear, and he's the type who is unafraid to make a decision.

   Similar: infant, juvie

3. A person younger than the age of full criminal responsibility, such that the person either cannot be held criminally liable or is subject to less severe forms of punishment. If the juvenile violates the conditions of the stayed sentence, typically by committing a new offense, the court may revoke the stay and require that the offender be taken into custody. The juvenile is then given written notice of the reasons for the revocation of the stayed sentence, and may have a
4. A publication for young adult readers. Formerly a publisher of juveniles, out of the market till 1959, when it will enter adult fiction field.
5. An actor playing a child's role. 'Home,' as, following his habit of giving monosyllable titles to his pieces, T[homas] W[illiam] Robertson christened his version of 'L'Aventurière,' has been revived. […] In a juvenile part, Mr. Lytton Sothern made a successful début.
6. A sexually immature animal. Even if juveniles acquire sex-specific adult-like foraging skills before reaching adult size, their smaller body size may put them at a foraging disadvantage. […] The size effect on foraging is reduced in species that use small or easily manipulated substrates. For instance, in Costa Rican squirrel
7. A two-year-old racehorse. Even more incredible is the legion of two-year-olds who win handsomely as juveniles and then disappear from the racetrack.