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youngish

youngish

5 3.5
A person, group, or thing that is not very old
  • adjective
  • /ˈjʌŋɪʃ/
  • Informal
: joven
  • He's a youngish teacher who's popular with all the students.
  • a youngish man

But she should be, you know, youngish, middle-aged maybe.

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Examples

  • You are still, by the world's standards, a youngish man.

  • I am married to a youngish man, David Michael Bertka.

  • A woman answered, a youngish, healthy one of prime breeding age.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The voice over the headset was youngish and female.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • "He's so attractive, even with face paint," I heard a youngish woman say.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • There are also youngish players whom the Sox want to evaluate, like Iglesias.

    Blog text (26)
  • A youngish instructor stirs to the front row from a row of upset faculty.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Abelove was like one of our teachers at the high school, a youngish guy exuding personality.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Without betraying anyone's confidence, I can say that there are several youngish men, beloved sons of couples in your midst.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Tourists, apparently, looking admiringly at a disheveled, youngish man, lanky and a little underweight.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

young
vsyoungish
∞ 1.0

Not old and in an early stage of life

is milder, meaning only somewhat early in life
youthful
vsyoungish
85 3.1

Having the energy and fresh look of a young person

focuses on being somewhat early in life rather than on energy

Antonyms

202 1.2

Having a certain number of years, used before a number

68 2.0

A group of people who are past middle age

1 4.1

A little past middle age for people and slightly out of date for things

How Young

young
∞ 1.0
youngish
  • Informal
5 3.5
middle-aged
133 2.6
elderly
68 2.0

Surface Forms

youngish positive

Morphology

youngish = young (transparent) = young + ish

The adjective is formed by adding the common suffix '-ish' meaning 'somewhat' to 'young', so the sense is directly inferable.

Etymology

Youngish is made from young and the ending -ish, which means 'somewhat' or 'like'. Think of words like 'greenish' or 'tallish' to remember that youngish means someone is a little like 'young', not very young.