You describe someone as childlike when they seem like a child in their character, appearance, or behaviour.
His most enduring quality is his childlike innocence.
Her behaviour was childlike and dependent.
Synonyms: innocent, trusting, simple, naive More Synonyms of childlike
childlike in British English
(ˈtʃaɪldˌlaɪk)
adjective
like or befitting a child, as in being innocent, trustful, etc
Compare childish (sense 2)
childlike in American English
(ˈtʃaɪldˌlaɪk)
adjective
1.
belonging or suitable to a child
2.
like or characteristic of a child; innocent, trusting, etc.
SYNONYMY NOTE: childlike, childish are both applied to persons of any age in referring to characteristics or qualitiesconsidered typical of a child, , childlike suggesting the favorable qualities such as innocence, guilelessness, trustfulness,etc. and , childish, the unfavorable, as immaturity, foolishness, petulance, etc.
Derived forms
childlikeness (ˈchildˌlikeness)
noun
Examples of 'childlike' in a sentence
childlike
He could offer no real explanation for his childlike behaviour.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They speak of his feelings of almost childlike wonder.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
There is a childlike quality to his voice as he talks with a slow drawl.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He is almost childlike in his inability to rein in his destructive impulse.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In some ways her behaviour is quite childlike.
The Sun (2008)
The responsibilities of being an adult mean that we can lose our childlike sense of wonder and possibility.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He has an almost childlike zest for talking up his business and explaining how it can still be improved.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He also has a childlike innocence.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Then a small, childlike hand crept into his.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
He also has a slightly excitable, childlike quality.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He was childlike in his behaviour, in that there was no malice behind it.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There's a childlike sense of wonder and exploration to these songs.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In fact, he has an almost childlike admiration for art and artists.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The audience may be lost in childlike wonder, but what about the performer?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Looking back now, my trust in some sort of mythical cosmic calculation seems almost childlike in its naivety.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Sometimes he seemed terribly childlike.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She expressed this in a display of childlike behaviour, demanding attention from the family and reacting with irritation or anger when she gained it.
Knowles, Jane Know Your Own Mind (1991)
But also, confusingly and faintly disturbingly, a childlike innocence that appeals to us all.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
There is also a childlike quality to his answers, a perpetual soft amusement in the arch of those bushy eyebrows and curl of the lip.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In fact, there's a childlike quality to her when she speaks.
The Sun (2013)
She has this amazingly bright smile, and when it comes through, there is something very innocent and childlike about her.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The childlike behaviour of the crowd may or may not have explained the glaring lack of interest in Pakistan's brilliant batting in the afternoon.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
In other languages
childlike
British English: childlike ADJECTIVE
You describe someone as childlike when they seem like a child in their character, appearance, or behaviour.
His most enduring quality is his childlike innocence.
American English: childlike
Brazilian Portuguese: pueril
Chinese: 像孩子的
European Spanish: infantil
French: enfantin
German: kindlich
Italian: infantile
Japanese: 子供のような
Korean: 어린애 같은
European Portuguese: pueril
Latin American Spanish: infantil
(adjective)
Definition
like a child, for example in being innocent or trustful
She had never lost her childlike sense of wonder.
Synonyms
innocent
They seemed so young and innocent.
trusting
simple
He was as simple as a child.
naive
He's so naive he'll believe anything I tell him.
credulous
artless
his artless air and charming smile
ingenuous
He seemed too ingenuous for a reporter.
guileless
She was so guileless that he had no option but to believe her.
unfeigned
trustful
Additional synonyms
in the sense of artless
Definition
natural or unpretentious
his artless air and charming smile
Synonyms
natural,
simple,
fair,
frank,
plain,
pure,
open,
round,
true,
direct,
genuine,
humble,
straightforward,
sincere,
honest,
candid,
unaffected,
upfront (informal),
unpretentious,
unadorned,
dinkum (Australian, New Zealand, informal),
guileless,
uncontrived,
undesigning
in the sense of guileless
She was so guileless that he had no option but to believe her.