What does "juvenile" mean?
A prepubescent child.
Juvenile
/ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A prepubescent child.
- Grammar: juvenile is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: child, actor, actress, adolescent.
- Useful contrasts: adult, full-grown, mature.
- Usage evidence: Recently juvenile delinquency has been on the rise.
How to use "juvenile"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "juvenile" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "juvenile" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "juvenile" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "juvenile" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "juvenile" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "child" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "juvenile", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A prepubescent child.
"One patient, a pedophile with a long history of arrests, penal incarceration, psychiatric admissions, and outpatient psychotherapy, commented that in the past when he saw a juvenile male playing, he (the patient) would without hesitation approach the boy and make a sexual proposition. When he was on MPA [medroxyprogesterone acetate] therapy, he stated that, at worst, when he saw such a juvenile, he only smiled "with appreciation" for the boy's good looks and otherwise kept about his business."
- 2 a young person, not fully developed wordnet
- 3 A person younger than the age of majority; a minor.
"Every childhood seems to have exactly such a juvenile in its midst and mists. He's the boy who refuses to fear the opposite sex, purely because everyone else embraces that particular fear, and he's the type who is unafraid to make a decision."
- 4 A person younger than the age of full criminal responsibility, such that the person either cannot be held criminally liable or is subject to less severe forms of punishment.
"If the juvenile violates the conditions of the stayed sentence, typically by committing a new offense, the court may revoke the stay and require that the offender be taken into custody. The juvenile is then given written notice of the reasons for the revocation of the stayed sentence, and may have a hearing with representation of legal counsel if the revocation is challenged."
- 5 A publication for young adult readers.
"Formerly a publisher of juveniles, out of the market till 1959, when it will enter adult fiction field."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 An actor playing a child's role.
"'Home,' as, following his habit of giving monosyllable titles to his pieces, T[homas] W[illiam] Robertson christened his version of 'L'Aventurière,' has been revived. […] In a juvenile part, Mr. Lytton Sothern made a successful début."
- 7 A sexually immature animal.
"Even if juveniles acquire sex-specific adult-like foraging skills before reaching adult size, their smaller body size may put them at a foraging disadvantage. […] The size effect on foraging is reduced in species that use small or easily manipulated substrates. For instance, in Costa Rican squirrel monkeys, juveniles apparently mastered techniques for insect foraging only a few months after weaning, when they were still much smaller than adults[…]."
- 8 A two-year-old racehorse.
"Even more incredible is the legion of two-year-olds who win handsomely as juveniles and then disappear from the racetrack."
Adjective
- 1 Young; not fully developed.
"There are certain Climates, where the Mind ripens and attains ſooner to Perfection than in others: nay there are ſome Conſtitutions of Body, where the humours are ſo exactly mixt, that they form an admirable Temper; the Effects thereof are diſcoverable in the firſt Juvenile Years, and leave very fine Remains, even in a decrepit Age."
- 2 Characteristic of youth or immaturity; childish.
"Adde to this diſsipated and diſtracted ſtate of Miniſters, their private diſtreſſes and poverties, together with the publick neglect and indifferency of people toward them; who can wonder if they look pitifully one on another, which no jocoſe or juvenile drolings can relieve?"
Adjective
- 1 displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity wordnet
- 2 of or relating to or characteristic of or appropriate for children or young people wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"Recently juvenile delinquency has been on the rise."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "juvenile"?
Common synonyms include: child, actor, actress, adolescent, adolescent, adolescent.
How do you use "juvenile" in a sentence?
Recently juvenile delinquency has been on the rise.
How do you pronounce "juvenile"?
Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/.
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”).