top definitions
related content
examples
british

childlike

[ chahyld-lahyk ]

/ ˈtʃaɪldˌlaɪk /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR childlike ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

like a child, as in innocence, frankness, etc.; befitting a child: childlike trust.

Origin of childlike

First recorded in 1580–90; child + -like

SYNONYMS FOR childlike

young, ingenuous, simple, guileless, trusting, innocent.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR childlike ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR childlike

sophisticated, adult.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR childlike ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for childlike

See childish.

OTHER WORDS FROM childlike

child·like·ness, noun un·child·like, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH childlike

childish childlike (see synonym study at childish)

Words nearby childlike

childfree, childhood, childhood muscular dystrophy, childing, childish, childlike, childly, childminder, childness, childproof, childrearing

Example sentences from the Web for childlike

But then the summit gives way to the other side of the hill, and a childlike glee arises from the whooooosh of the descent.

Biking With the Bard |Kara Cutruzzula |December 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Too many people reverted to a childlike state, and they wanted a daddy-protector.

The U.S. Will Torture Again—and We’re All to Blame |Michael Tomasky |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Their playful exhibitions are often meant to be interactive and instill a childlike sense of joy in the viewer.

New York City’s New Mystery Art Piece |Sara Sayed |September 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“Her reporting was childlike but graphic,” says the documents.

Inside the Shocking Custody Case Court Documents that Shed Light on the Dylan Farrow-Woody Allen Saga |Marlow Stern |February 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Childlike Elvis Presley was amusing but a complete failure in the feathers.

Rita Moreno, SAG Life Achievement Award Winner, Talks Brando, Elvis And West Side Story |Sandra McElwaine |January 15, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They would die for a smile from Csar, gazing at him with eyes of childlike adoration.

The Death of the Gods |Dmitri Mrejkowski
We have lost the childlike power of living without conscious aims.

Over Prairie Trails |Frederick Philip Grove
Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.

Bloom of Cactus |Robert Ames Bennet
A childlike fear had seized her, there, suddenly, between these two silent figures: the living and the dead.

I Will Repay |Baroness Emmuska Orczy
An Indian legend pours cruel scorn upon this childlike megalomania: A fox had fallen into a stream and was drowning.

Morals and the Evolution of Man |Max Simon Nordau

British Dictionary definitions for childlike

childlike

/ (ˈtʃaɪldˌlaɪk) /

adjective

like or befitting a child, as in being innocent, trustful, etc Compare childish (def. 2)