ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsCcallow
ISEE/SSAThard
callow
Meaning: immature and lacking experience
callow in a sentence
How callow is used in real sentences:
The callow recruit underestimated the patience required for diplomacy.
His callow judgment reflected enthusiasm but little knowledge of the risks.
“Their callow assumptions ignored nurses on night shifts and parents staying with hospitalized children, whose absences reflected duty, not irresponsibility.”
— from the passage Who Counts in Dockside
“Wei's opponents initially rallied around Prince Ren, a callow young man whose confidence exceeded his knowledge of finance or faction.”
— from the passage The Ledger Conspiracy
“Her cousin Edmund, still callow, welcomed her as if he had managed the property for decades; in fact, he had misplaced the library key.”
— from the passage The House at Mallow End
Synonyms for callow
Other words for callow — inexperienced, immature and naive — carry the same meaning.
- inexperienced
- immature
- naive
Antonyms of callow
Words that mean the opposite of callow:
- seasoned
- mature
- worldly
Where it comes from
From Old English calu, meaning 'bald or bare.'
Memory hook
A CALLOW youth is like a bare branch: not yet mature.