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GRE vocabulary

puerile

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore P words

childishly silly and immature

Word origin: From Latin puerilis, boyish, from puer, boy.

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In a sentence

Puerile in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing puerile in a sentence.

The senator's puerile name-calling embarrassed his own party.

The debate degenerated into puerile name-calling unworthy of a scholarly forum.

Synonyms
childishimmaturejuvenileinfantile
Antonyms
matureadultsophisticated

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Verbal · Text Completion

The committee's report was praised for its candor, yet its central recommendation was so blank that administrators could cite it to justify nearly any policy they had already resolved to pursue.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “puerile” well

Puerile is dismissive, condemning behavior as childishly immature when adult seriousness is expected.

Common questions

Questions about “puerile”

Puerile (adjective) means childishly silly and immature
Here is puerile used in an example sentence: "The senator's puerile name-calling embarrassed his own party." Another example: "The debate degenerated into puerile name-calling unworthy of a scholarly forum."
Common synonyms for puerile include childish, immature, juvenile, infantile.
Antonyms of puerile include mature, adult, sophisticated.
On the GRE, puerile clusters with childish, immature, juvenile, and infantile, opposing mature, adult, and sophisticated.
Yes. Puerile is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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