juvenile

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/ UK /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/ See IPA manual

Freq #8360

Meanings

1

adj
Relating to young people or children.

The new law deals with juvenile crime.
2

adj
Childish or immature in behaviour.

His juvenile jokes annoyed everyone at the meeting.
3

noun
A young person who is below the age of an adult, especially in legal terms.

The juvenile was sentenced to community service rather than prison.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · childish or immature in... childish immature infantile

3 noun · a young person who is below... minor

Opposites

adult maturenonjuvenileold senile

Word family

Forms juveniles

Related forms juvenaljuvenaliajuvenescencejuvenescentjuvenilia

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

juvenile court
A court dealing with legal cases involving children or young people.

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Juvenile entered English in the early 17th century from Latin juvenis, “young.” The Latin word belongs to the same ancient root as English young and youth.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin iuvenīlis (“youthful; juvenile”), from iuvenis (“young; a youth”) + -īlis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (“young”), from *h₂óyu (“long life; lifetime”) (from *h₂ey- (“age; life”)) + *h₁én (“in”).

*h₂ey- Proto-Indo-European iuvenīlis Latin *h₂yuh₁en- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# juvenile

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/
**Frequency rank:** 8360

## Meanings
1. Relating to young people or children.
2. Childish or immature in behaviour.
3. A young person who is below the age of an adult, especially in legal terms.

## Examples
- The new law deals with juvenile crime.
- His juvenile jokes annoyed everyone at the meeting.
- The juvenile was sentenced to community service rather than prison.

## Antonyms
- adult
- mature
- nonjuvenile
- old
- senile

## Related Forms
- juvenal
- juvenalia
- juvenescence
- juvenescent
- juvenilia

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂ey-
- Root: iuvenīlis
- Root: *h₂yuh₁en-

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin iuvenīlis (“youthful; juvenile”), from iuvenis (“young; a youth”) + -īlis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (“young”), from *h₂óyu (“long life; lifetime”) (from *h₂ey- (“age; life”)) + *h₁én (“in”).

## AI Etymology
Juvenile is borrowed from Latin iuvenīlis (“youthful; juvenile”), from iuvenis (“young; a youth”) + -īlis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (“young”), from *h₂óyu (“long life; lifetime”) (from *h₂ey- (“age; life”)) + *h₁én (“in”). Important historical forms include Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey-, Latin iuvenīlis, and Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en-. In present-day use, it can mean relating to young people or children, or childish or immature in behaviour.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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