juvenile
ju·ven·ile/ˈd͡ʒuvəˌnaɪl/adjective, noun
juvenile is spelled J-U-V-E-N-I-L-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (ju·ven·ile). It appears 7.6 times per million words in written English, the 8,542nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, juvenile means “Young; not fully developed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in juvenile?
| Letters | 8: J-U-V-E-N-I-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ju·ven·ile |
| In writing | 7.6 times per million words; the 8,542nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is juvenile?
Juvenile appears 7.6 times per million words in written English, the 8,542nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce juvenile?
- UK /ˈd͡ʒuːvənaɪl/
- US /ˈd͡ʒuvəˌnaɪl/
- US /ˈd͡ʒuvən(ə)l/
Juvenile has 3 syllables, split ju·ven·ile in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-juvenile.wav, En-au-juvenile.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of juvenile
- more juvenile comparative
- most juvenile superlative
- juveniles plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does juvenile mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Young; not fully developed.
- 2
Characteristic of youth or immaturity; childish.
noun
- 1
A prepubescent child.
- 2
A person younger than the age of majority; a minor.
- 3
A person younger than the age of full criminal responsibility, such that the person either cannot be held criminally liable or is subject to less severe forms of punishment.
- 4
A publication for young adult readers.
- 5
An actor playing a child's role.
- 6
A sexually immature animal.
- 7
A two-year-old racehorse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate juvenile?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of juvenile: Juv..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Juvenile in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | juvénile , adolescent |
| German | jugendlich , jung, unreif, kindisch |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does juvenile come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).