juvenile

/ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/

//ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"juvenile" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“juvenile” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,562. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,562
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Young; not fully developed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-juvenile · juvenile · English

juvenile · rank #8,562 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,562
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH karma

Nearest frequency peer: karma (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “juvenile”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “juvenile” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for juvenile
PropertyValue
Headwordjuvenile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,562
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “juvenile”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).juvenilelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “karma” (#8,563), “intersection” (#8,560), “kI” (#8,564). Among 796 “J” headwords, “juvenile” is #8,562. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around juvenile (IPA /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,562 among 796 “J” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for juvenile, with forms such as "jjuvenile", "juevnile", and "juveinle". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin iuvenīlis (“youthful; juvenile”), from iuvenis (“young; a youth”) + -īlis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (“young”), from *h₂óyu … The correct English form is juvenile, spelled J-U-V-E-N-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Young; not fully developed.
  2. 2
    Characteristic of youth or immaturity; childish.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how juvenile appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. There are certain Climates, where the Mind ripens and attains ſooner to Perfection than in others: nay there are ſome Conſtitutions of Body, where the humours are ſo exactly mixt, that they form an admirable Temper; the Effects thereof are diſcoverable in the firſt Juvenile Years, and leave very fine Remains, even in a decrepit Age.
  2. We should then be able to count on the labours of fifty thousand juvenile home missionaries, and the next generation would be able to speak from a happier experience than we, of "times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord."—From the Canada Sunday School Record.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin iuvenīlis (“youthful; juvenile”), from iuvenis (“young; a youth”) + -īlis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (“young”), from *h₂óyu (“long life; lifetime”) (from *h₂ey- (“age; life”)) + *h₁én (“in”).

Antonyms

adultmaturenonjuvenileoldsenile

This word in other languages

juvénile(Français)jugendlich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • jjuvenile
  • juevnile
  • juveinle
  • juveniel
  • juvenille
  • juvenlie
  • juvennile
  • juvneile
  • juvvenile
  • jvuenile
  • ujvenile

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of juvenile - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

jjuvenile1juevnile2juveinle2juveniel2juvenille1juvenlie2juvennile1juvneile2
Edit distance from "juvenile"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "juvenile"?
"juvenile" is spelled J-U-V-E-N-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/.
What does "juvenile" mean?
As an adjective, "juvenile" means: Young; not fully developed.
What are common misspellings of "juvenile"?
Common misspellings include "jjuvenile", "juevnile", "juveinle", "juveniel", "juvenille". The correct spelling is "juvenile".
How do you pronounce "juvenile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "juvenile" is /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "juvenile"?
Borrowed from Latin iuvenīlis (“youthful; juvenile”), from iuvenis (“young; a youth”) + -īlis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (“young”), fr... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "juvenile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

knocking#8,565leverage#8,568geometry#8,544fourteen#8,542

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

imports11 variantsmankind11 variantsblaming11 variantsBelfast11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list