" puerility "

1: as in goofiness, childishness;

•  Synonyms : 

•  childishness,

•  goofiness,

•  cheer,

•  cheerfulness,

•  festivity,

•  gaiety,

•  glee,

•  gleefulness,

•  high-spiritedness,

•  hilarity,

•  joviality,

•  lightheartedness,

•  merriment,

•  mirth,

•  mirthfulness,

•  facetiousness,

•  flightiness,

•  flippancy,

•  frivolity,

•  frivolousness,

•  frothiness,

•  levity,

•  light-headedness,

•  light-mindedness,

•  lightness,

•  silliness

•  Antonyms : 

•  earnestness,

•  gravity,

•  seriousness,

•  soberness,

•  solemnity,

•  solemnness,

•  dejection,

•  depression,

•  despondency,

•  dispiritedness,

•  downheartedness,

•  gloom,

•  gloominess,

•  heartsickness,

•  joylessness,

•  melancholy,

•  mopes,

•  moroseness,

•  sadness,

•  sullenness,

•  unhappiness

1: having or showing the annoying qualities (as silliness) associated with children;

  * e.g., " ... told the teenagers that such puerile behavior would not be tolerated during the ceremony "

•  Synonyms : 

•  adolescent,

•  babyish,

•  childish,

•  immature,

•  infantile,

•  jejune,

•  juvenile,

•  kiddish

•  Antonyms : 

•  adult,

•  grown-up,

•  mature

2: lacking in adult experience or maturity;

  * e.g., " ... allowed the company to be taken over by a bunch of puerile whippersnappers fresh out of business school "

•  Synonyms : 

•  adolescent,

•  callow,

•  green,

•  immature,

•  inexperienced,

•  juvenile,

•  raw,

•  unfledged,

•  unformed,

•  unripe,

•  unripened

•  Antonyms : 

•  adult,

•  experienced,

•  grown-up,

•  mature,

•  ripe

3: lacking in seriousness or maturity;

  * e.g., " ... the kind of puerile jokes that teenage moviegoers apparently love "

•  Synonyms : 

•  birdbrained,

•  ditzy,

•  dizzy,

•  featherbrained,

•  flighty,

•  frivolous,

•  frothy,

•  futile,

•  giddy,

•  goofy,

•  harebrained,

•  light-headed,

•  light-minded,

•  scatterbrained,

•  scatty,

•  silly,

•  yeasty

•  Antonyms : 

•  earnest,

•  serious,

•  serious-minded,

•  sober,

•  unfrivolous