as in childish
having or showing the annoying qualities (as silliness) associated with children
the boy now thinks that playing with blocks is a rather babyish activity
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Recent Examples of babyish
Suzanne O’Donnell, an accomplished regional theater actor with a lot of Shakespeare on her resume, plays Penrose as both a warm mothering figure to these two occasionally babyish men but does not downplay the character’s pragmatic side.
—
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
Paige is little more than a dumb blonde stereotype, another underwritten female character in Sheridan’s growing oeuvre, but Chapman laces her babyish whining with surprising bite, while showing a knack for physical comedy.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2026
Teddy’s babyish voice pipes up from the back seat.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
Paige is little more than a dumb blonde stereotype, another underwritten female character in Sheridan’s growing oeuvre, but Chapman laces her babyish whining with surprising bite, while showing a knack for physical comedy.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2026
Teddy’s babyish voice pipes up from the back seat.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for babyish
Adjective
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That’s as childish an expression as the show ever shares.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
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The use of childish internet and video-game memes to describe violence is coarse and unworthy of the men and women who go in harm’s way.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Only this week, Conway doubled down with a stunt in front of Mfume’s district office, an act that would be immature and juvenile in an elementary school student government election, let alone a campaign for Congress.—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
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Faced with the prospect of deciding between Urlacher, a late bloomer in high school who almost wasn’t recruited before becoming a college All-American, and Michigan State receiver Plaxico Burress, regarded throughout the NFL as gifted but immature, the Bears did not have to choose.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Even Michael’s social life is left blank, far beyond his adolescent solitudes.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
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Relatedly, another study published Friday in JAMA Network Open found that rates of adolescent cannabis use increased after recreational use was legalized in California, but decreased after the Covid pandemic.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Another resident, Jennifer Arnold, says someone needs to take accountability for the juvenile crime after witnessing the video of the children's joyride.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
2 May 2026
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One afternoon in November, just north of the small Oregon coastal town of Yachats, a juvenile humpback whale tumbled ashore.—
Robin Romm,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Babyish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/babyish. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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