30 May 2018

callow

[kal-oh]

adjective

1. immature or inexperienced:
a callow youth.
2. (of a young bird) featherless; unfledged.
noun
3. a recently hatched worker ant.

Origin of callow

Old English

1000, before 1000; Middle English, Old English calu bald; cognate with Dutch kaal, German kahl bald, OCS golŭ bare

Related forms

callowness, noun

Synonyms

1. untried, green, raw; naive, puerile, jejune.

Antonyms

1. mature, adult, experienced.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for callow

Contemporary Examples

Anyone going through Prozac Nation can certainly find plenty of callow moments when Wurtzel does whine.
Thank You, Elizabeth Wurtzel: ‘Prozac Nation’ Turns 20
Nicolaus Mills
July 31, 2014

But now that veneer is gone, and what remains is a callow man-child at odds with himself.
What’s Happened to Don Draper? Why Everyone’s Favorite ‘Mad Men’ Stud Needs His Mojo Back
Lizzie Crocker
April 16, 2014

This is clearly not a boast; it seems, rather, a shamed admission of petty, callow cruelty.
In Defense of Jonathan Franzen
Michelle Goldberg
September 26, 2013

Anagram

all cow

Today’s quote

Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.

– Voltaire

On this day

30 May 1778 – death of François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire. French enlightment writer, historian and philosopher. A man of wit who advocated freedom of religion, freedom of expression and separation of church and state. Voltaire wrote more than 20,000 letters, 2,000 books and pamphlets. He criticised intolerance, religious dogma and social institutions. Born 21 November 1694.

30 May 1911 – death of Milton Bradley, U.S. board-game maker, credited with launching the board-game industry. Born 8 November 1836.