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
Even with a callow receiving corps that has earned his wrath at times, A-Rod is a problem.
—
Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Sep. 2022
But mostly, this dark-cornered, sinister place, which is being minded by callow young caretaker Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), feels eerily still and expectant, like a spiderweb waiting for the return of its spider.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 29 Sep. 2022
During the first half of the movie, Butler seems at times too callow as the Presley of the Fifties.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2022
The final decade and a half of Lubitsch’s career unfolded under the cloud of the dreaded Production Code, with its prudish horror of sexuality and its callow fear of politics.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for callow
Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Sep. 2022
But mostly, this dark-cornered, sinister place, which is being minded by callow young caretaker Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), feels eerily still and expectant, like a spiderweb waiting for the return of its spider.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 29 Sep. 2022
During the first half of the movie, Butler seems at times too callow as the Presley of the Fifties.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2022
The final decade and a half of Lubitsch’s career unfolded under the cloud of the dreaded Production Code, with its prudish horror of sexuality and its callow fear of politics.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for callow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for callow
Adjective
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He’s been there; Harper was emotional — at times, immature — as a younger player.—
Matt Gelb,
The Athletic,
25 Mar. 2025
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From its opening scenes, Severance has presented the procedure the show is named for as a kind of birth, the spawning of a new, immature being.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Hope, an adolescent red wolf from one of the cloned litters produced by Colossal.—
Emily Mullin,
Wired News,
7 Apr. 2025
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After reaming her besties out for having not changed at all since their teen years, Laurie reverts back to her adolescent self.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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After Anne’s death, a more paternal side of Cromwell appears—augmented, perhaps, by the loss of his own young daughters to sudden illness, a few years earlier.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2025
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The selection of Viva and Awuah-Darko for the campaign — lensed by young talent Mauro Maglione and styled by Francesca Cisani — speaks to Whitehouse’s ambition to leverage fashion to raise mental health awareness.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
30 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Callow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/callow. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.
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