Ladlike

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Resembling or characteristic of a lad.

    "I remember a fellow-collegiate recalling to his memory, an exploit of which he was the planner, and a late Lord Chancellor the executor. It was this:—a train of gunpowder was to be laid on two of the neatly shaven lawns of St. John’s and Trinity Colleges, in such a manner, that, when set on fire, the singed grass would exhibit the ominous words, Liberty and Equality, which, with able ladlike dexterity, was duly performed."

Example

More examples

"I remember a fellow-collegiate recalling to his memory, an exploit of which he was the planner, and a late Lord Chancellor the executor. It was this:—a train of gunpowder was to be laid on two of the neatly shaven lawns of St. John’s and Trinity Colleges, in such a manner, that, when set on fire, the singed grass would exhibit the ominous words, Liberty and Equality, which, with able ladlike dexterity, was duly performed."

Etymology

From lad + -like.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.