callow Meaning & Definition
What Does Callow Mean?
Callow is an adjective that means Immature, inexperienced, or naive. It can also mean Having no hair; bald, bare, hairless. As a noun, it means Synonym of teneral (“an insect or other arthropod such as a spider which has just undergone ecdysis (“shedding of the exoskeleton”) and so lacks colour or firmness”). As a noun, it means A low-lying meadow near a river which is regularly submerged.
Callow: Key Facts
| Part of speech | adjective, noun |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | //ˈkæləʊ// |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | naive, immature and inexperienced |
| Antonyms | experienced and mature |
| Plural | callows |
| Comparative / superlative | callower, callowest |
Callow Definition (Adjective)
- Immature, inexperienced, or naive.
- Having no hair; bald, bare, hairless.
- Of a brick: unburnt.
- Of a young bird, or (part of) its body: having not developed feathers yet; featherless, unfledged; hence, of other animals or their bodies: having no fur or hair; furless, hairless, unfurred.
Lacking life experience; immature, inexperienced, naive; also, of or relating to something immature or inexperienced.
Those three young men are particularly callow youths.
- Lacking life experience; immature, inexperienced, naive; also, of or relating to something immature or inexperienced.
Those three young men are particularly callow youths.
- In the life cycle of an animal: newly born or hatched; juvenile.
a callow bee
- Synonym of teneral (“of certain insects or other arthropods such as spiders: lacking colour or firmness just after ecdysis (“shedding of the exoskeleton”)”).
- Of land: having no vegetation; bare.
Callow as a Noun
- Synonym of teneral (“an insect or other arthropod such as a spider which has just undergone ecdysis (“shedding of the exoskeleton”) and so lacks colour or firmness”).
- An alluvial flat.
- The upper layer of rubble in a quarry which has to be removed to reach the material to be mined.
- A young bird which has not developed feathers yet; a nestling. A person lacking life experience; an immature or naive person. Synonym of topsoil (“upper layer of soil”).
- A young bird which has not developed feathers yet; a nestling. A person lacking life experience; an immature or naive person.
- A person lacking life experience; an immature or naive person.
- Synonym of topsoil (“upper layer of soil”).
Adjective
- Of land: low-lying and near a river, and thus regularly submerged.
Noun
- A low-lying meadow near a river which is regularly submerged.
Noun
- A callow young bird.
- A callow or teneral phase of an insect or other arthropod, typically shortly after ecdysis, while the skin still is hardening, the colours have not yet become stable, and as a rule, before the animal is able to move effectively.
Adjective
- Unfledged (of a young bird).
- (by extension) Immature, lacking in life experience.
Those three young men are particularly callow youths.
- Lacking color or firmness (of some kinds of insects or other arthropods, such as spiders, just after ecdysis); teneral.
- Shallow or weak-willed.
- Of land: low-lying and liable to be submerged.
- Bald.
Synonyms of Callow
Callow synonyms and antonyms →Antonyms of Callow
Callow in a Sentence
Those three young men are particularly callow youths.
a callow bee
Word Forms & Grammar
callow (comparative callower or more callow, superlative callowest or most callow)
callow (countable and uncountable, plural callows)
callow (comparative more callow, superlative most callow)
callow (plural callows)
Words That Rhyme With Callow
Origin of Callow
Origin 1: From Middle English calwe (“(adjective) bald; (noun) bald person”),[1] from Old English calu, caluw (“without hair, bald, callow”),[2] from Proto-West Germanic *kalu, from Proto-Germanic *kalwaz (“bald; bare, naked”), and then either:[3]
Origin 2: If not borrowed from Latin, Grimm’s law indicates that the Latin word is likely a false cognate, along with Persian کل (kal) and Sanskrit कुल्व (kulvá).
Origin 3: From Irish caladh (“meadow by a riverbank”), from Old Irish calad (“shore, landing, port”), probably a noun use of calad (“hard”, adjective), from Proto-Celtic *kaletos (“cruel; hard; strong”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlH-eto- (“cold”) (in the sense of something frozen and thus hard), from an unclear root *ḱl(H)- or *kl(H)- (“hard”);[4] or related to Proto-Germanic *halluz (“boulder, rock, stone”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel- (“to cut, hew”). Perhaps influenced by Etymology 1 in some manner.
Pronouncing Callow
Callow is pronounced //ˈkæləʊ// and has 1 syllable.
Callow: Your Questions Answered
Is callow an adjective or a noun?
Callow is mainly used as an adjective, but it can also be used as a noun.
What is another word for callow?
Close synonyms of callow are naive, immature and inexperienced. See the full list of callow synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of callow?
Words opposite in meaning to callow are experienced and mature.
What is the plural of callow?
The plural of callow is callows.
What are the comparative and superlative forms of callow?
The comparative form is callower and the superlative form is callowest.