Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

puerilism

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: pueril-ism
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Childlike behavior by an adult, especially as indicating a mental disorder.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"With regard to hysteria; in dissociation there may be a secondary time disorder; for example a patient with puerilism said: "People all seem grown up and older. And my Mum, I'm sure I know her from a long time ago. I look at her, but I can't make it out.""
"[T]he Dutchman Johan Huizenga, who coined the term puerilism in the 1930s . . . defined it as permanent puberty."
"A kind of puerilism marked many American attitudes — an unnaturally extended puerilism which tended to transmute itself into senility alarmingly and swiftly."

Etymology

From puerile + -ism.

Word Breakdown

Root: *peh₂w-
Suffix: puerile

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

puerilisms (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

puerility

Questions

What does puerilism mean?: Childlike behavior by an adult, especially as indicating a mental disorder.
Where does puerilism come from?: From puerile + -ism.

How to pronounce puerilism

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