babyishness
Definition
Noun: The quality or state of being babyish; behavior, appearance, or characteristics that are childish, immature, or typical of a baby or very young child.
Usage Examples
- (His childish and immature behavior was obvious.)
- (The film's use of simple, infantile humor makes it seem like it is intended for very young children.)
- (She attempted to conceal her immature or juvenile traits.)
Advanced Usage
"to outgrow one's babyishness": to become more mature and stop behaving in a childish manner.
- Most teenagers outgrow their babyishness by the time they reach adulthood. (They stop acting like children as they mature.)
"a trace of babyishness": a small amount of immature quality.
- Even as a successful executive, there was still a trace of babyishness in his love for cartoons. (He still had a slight childish preference.)
Variants and Related Words
Babyish (adj): characteristic of or suitable for a baby; immature.
- Her babyish lisp made her sound younger than she was. (Her speech was like that of a very young child.)
Baby (n): a very young child, especially one not yet walking.
- The baby cried for its mother. (The infant called for its parent.)
Synonyms
- Childishness: the quality of being immature or silly, like a child.
- His childishness annoyed the adults. (His immature behavior was irritating.)
- Immaturity: the state of not being fully developed or grown.
- Her immaturity showed in her inability to handle criticism. (Her lack of emotional growth was evident.)
- Infantilism: the persistence of childlike characteristics in an adult (often used in psychology).
- The patient's infantilism required special care. (The adult's childlike behavior needed attention.)
Related Idioms
- To act like a baby: to behave in a very childish or immature way.
- Stop acting like a baby and finish your homework. (Stop being childish and complete your work.)
- To throw a tantrum: to have a sudden, childish outburst of anger or frustration.
- He threw a tantrum when he didn't get what he wanted, showing his babyishness. (He had an immature fit of anger.)