childlike
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See also: child-like
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
childlike (comparative more childlike, superlative most childlike)
- Innocent and trustful; credulous; artless.
- Synonyms: credulous, unworldly; see also Thesaurus:naive
- Of, like, or suitable for a child.
- Synonyms: childish, childly; see also Thesaurus:childlike
- 2019 May 8, Jon Bailes, “Save yourself! The video games casting us as helpless children”, in The Guardian[1]:
- Even Mario is given childlike mannerisms – running open-armed like a fearless toddler, whooping with delight – to convey playful innocence.
Quotations[edit]
- 1859, Henry Barnard, Pestalozzi and Pestalozzianism:
- And on the other hand, fatherly and childlike feelings in the national spirit, are the sources of all pure national blessings.
- 1894, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Lessings Nathan Der Weise:
- He certainly has childlike simplicity, and all the qualities which go to make up a true Christian character.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
innocent and trustful; credulous; artless
of, like, or suitable for a child
References[edit]
- “childlike”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “childlike”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.