Synonym of the day

Synonym of the day

puerile

puerile is a synonym of immature

adjective [ pyoo-er-il, -uh-rahyl, pyoor-il, -ahyl ]

puerile is another word for immature

Both words describe conduct that is more befitting of someone who is young. Immature suggests an unfortunate, but often rectifiable, lack of emotional development that often issues in selfishirresponsible, and unprofessional behavior. Puerile is a more contemptuous term for childish behavior, which may or may not be connected to its origin in a Latin word meaning “boyish.” Puerile is associated with silly, empty, and shallow ideas and actions (puerile drivel; puerile name-calling), and is intensified with adverbs like “maddeningly” and “embarrassingly.” Puerile is frequently used to describe politics, arguments, and humor, particularly when it has to do with bodily functions: tell puerile, scatalogical jokes.

Commonly found as

maddeningly puerile
Two of the parents hijacked our PTA meeting when they started engaging in some maddeningly puerile behavior, including snickering at the principal's new haircut.
puerile comedy
I wish I’d read the review that said the movie was “filled with puerile comedy and gross-out gags” before we paid all that money to see it.

See all synonyms for immature

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anomaly

anomaly is a synonym of oddity

noun [ uh-nom-uh-lee ]

anomaly is another word for oddity

Both words refer to a person or thing that is so different from the norm that they appear strange or are difficult to explain. Oddity suggests something or someone remarkably unusual, often peculiar in appearance, and having some entertainment value: museum of medical oddities. An anomaly is an abnormality that is recognized more by its departure from norms governing everything else of its kind rather than being itself strange: Chef Bob was an anomaly in a family boasting generations of doctors. Anomaly is often a more technical term in fields intent on detecting, discovering, correcting, or explaining anomalies that occur in data, statistics, or genetics.

Commonly found as

genetic anomaly
A number of serious disorders, such as sickle cell anemia and Huntington’s disease are caused by genetic anomalies.
anomaly + explain
A ship sailing around the world at a time when the earth was believed to be flat would have been an anomaly that was hard to explain.

See all synonyms for oddity

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daunt

daunt is a synonym of frighten

verb [ dawnt, dahnt ]

daunt is another word for frighten

Frighten suggests causing a significant degree of fear in a person, often directly and immediately: A noise frightened us. When the fear overcomes a person or intimidates them so that they back down, then daunt is a good choice. Daunt comes from a Latin verb meaning “to tame or subdue.” It’s often a prospect, challenge, or task that daunts a person—that is, something that lies before them, rather than something immediately frightening. If not the task itself, the scale, scope, or magnitude of it may daunt the doer.

Commonly found as

daunt + prospect
The prospect of facing a notoriously fierce army daunted even the bravest of our soldiers.
daunt + size
David was not daunted by the size of his admittedly giant opponent because he intended to outsmart the witless brute.

See all synonyms for frighten

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