as in inexperienced
lacking in adult experience or maturity
a story about a callow youth who learns the value of hard work and self-reliance
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Recent Examples of callow
The two performers effortlessly convey their characters’ callow charm, and there’s a disarming lack of to-do in the way Uttapa, at the center of the story, rides its tonal shifts as Olmo faces moments of awakening, both sublime and potentially shattering.
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Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2025
The callow roster is rapidly developing, and the wins are starting to come.
—Tony Jones, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
In discerning and grooming the callow and shallow Donald, Roy picks up on his starrily megawatt personality, likening him to Robert Redford.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
For me, DiCaprio, now pushing 50, nevertheless almost always seems too callow, too green, for the roles he’s called upon to play, especially in his many Scorsese films.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for callow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for callow
Adjective
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Jokic didn’t overtake Jamal Murray as Denver’s leading scorer until their seventh game of the season, after a 33-point performance Wednesday against a Miami Heat frontcourt that was woefully undersized and inexperienced the instant Bam Adebayo exited with a foot injury.—
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Henderson has struggled in that role as a rookie, and Jennings is inexperienced at the pro level.—
Adjective
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Its audience, once immature teenagers, is now made up of immature middle-aged people — plus a whole lot of new immature teenagers.—
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The bacterial illness, called infant botulism, occurs when babies ingest spores of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which can grow in their immature digestive systems and produce toxin.—
Adjective
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced major changes to its childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, an age-by-age guide for health care providers on when to vaccinate children to protect them from preventable diseases.—
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The show channels a certain energetic, zany sense of humor viewers could recognize from their own adolescent friendships and antics, culminating in a five-season run and a 2021–2023 revival on Paramount+.—
Adjective
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Both the barn owl and the center’s 14-year-old eastern screech owl were rescued as young animals.—
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That is a recipe for political disruption that defies classic lines between Republicans and Democrats and between conservatives and liberals − particularly among younger voters who have less history with and allegiance to either party.—
Cite this Entry
“Callow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/callow. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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