Word
juvenile
Phoneticsju·ve·nile, stress on the first syllable
US/ˈdʒuvəˌnaɪɫ/
UK/dʒˈuːvənˌaɪl/
Definitions
01young or developing
B2 · Upper Intermediate
adj. relating to young people or animals that are still growing.
adj. relating to or characteristic of young people or animals that have not yet reached physiological or legal maturity.
“The scientist studied the juvenile birds as they learned to fly.”
“The research team monitored the juvenile population of sea turtles to determine if the nesting grounds were successfully supporting the next generation.”
Synonyms
02childish
B2 · Upper Intermediate
adj. acting in a silly way that is more typical of a child than an adult.
adj. displaying a lack of maturity or seriousness; often used pejoratively to describe adult behaviour.
“He made a juvenile joke that nobody in the office found funny.”
“The critic dismissed the film's humour as juvenile, arguing that the script relied too heavily on cheap physical gags rather than clever dialogue.”
Antonyms
03a young person
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Law Formal · Technical
n. a young person who is not yet an adult in the eyes of the law.
n. an individual who has not yet reached the age of majority; frequently used in legal contexts regarding criminal responsibility.
“The court decided to treat the suspect as a juvenile because of his age.”
“Legislators are currently debating whether certain violent crimes should allow a juvenile to be tried in an adult court system.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
04a young animal
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Science Technical
n. an animal that is not yet fully grown or able to breed.
n. a young animal that has not yet reached sexual maturity or its adult plumage/coat.
“The juveniles of this species look very different from the adults.”
“Identifying the species can be difficult because the juveniles often lack the distinctive markings found on mature specimens.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“Kilkeel Angling Club said "several generations of juvenile fish have been wiped out".” “The team, for the first time, combined established salmon spawning surveys, river temperature models and analysis of salmon otoliths, or ear bones, to track the factors affecting juvenile salmon developing inside their eggs.” 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”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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