child´ish|ly

child´ish|ly
child|ish «CHYL dihsh», adjective.
1. of a child: »

sweet childish days (Wordsworth).

2. like a child; immature: »

The little boy will outgrow his childish fear of doctors.

3. not proper for a grown person; silly; foolish: »

Crying for things you can't have is childish.

SYNONYM(S): weak.
╂[Old English cildisc < cild child + -isc -ish]
–child´ish|ly, adverb.
–child´ish|ness, noun.
Usage Childish, childlike differ widely in their connotations when applied to adults, though both mean resembling or having the characteristics of a child. Childish is derogatory since it emphasizes characteristics which one might be expected to have outgrown. »

Pouting when scolded is childish.

Childlike, however, emphasizes such characteristics as innocence, simplicity, and frankness and suggests regret that most adults have lost them: »

He has a childlike love for a circus.


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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