childish

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈt͡ʃaɪldɪʃ/ See IPA manual

Freq #6851

Meanings

1

adj
Behaving in a silly, immature way that you would not expect from an adult.

Your childish tantrums won't change my mind.
2

adj
Typical of or suitable for a child.

This game is too childish for teenagers.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · behaving in a silly,... infantile

2 adj · typical of or suitable for... childly

More babish babyish bairnish child childlikedootsiehissyimmature infantine juvenile kiddishlactifluous

Opposites

adultadultishadultlikemature

Word family

Derived forms childishlychildishnessoverchildishunchildish

Related forms childlike

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

childish voice
a way of speaking that sounds like a child's

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English childisch, from Old English ċildisċ. By surface analysis, child + ish.

childissh Middle English ċildisċ Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# childish

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈt͡ʃaɪldɪʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 6851

## Meanings
1. Behaving in a silly, immature way that you would not expect from an adult.
2. Typical of or suitable for a child.

## Examples
- Your childish tantrums won't change my mind.
- This game is too childish for teenagers.

## Synonyms
- babish
- babyish
- bairnish
- child
- childlike
- dootsie
- hissy
- immature
- infantine
- juvenile
- kiddish
- lactifluous

## Antonyms
- adult
- adultish
- adultlike
- mature

## Derived Forms
- childishly
- childishness
- overchildish
- unchildish

## Related Forms
- childlike

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: childissh
- Root: ċildisċ
- Affix: -ish - somewhat

## Etymology
From Middle English childisch, from Old English ċildisċ. By surface analysis, child + ish.

## AI Etymology
childish is an adjective. It is from Middle English childisch, from Old English ċildisċ. By surface analysis, child + ish. Historical forms in the chain include childissh (Middle English) and ċildisċ (Old English). Current senses include behaving in a silly, immature way that you would not expect from an adult and typical of or suitable for a child. Derived forms include childishly, childishness, overchildish, and unchildish. Related words include childlike.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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