Words / C2

KAL-oh/ˈkæləʊ/

Callow means young and inexperienced, and showing it (literary / disapproving): a callow intern, callow optimism. Naive is everyday; immature is close. Callous (already in the dictionary) is cruelly unfeeling — the classic mix-up. Do not call a careful new starter callow for asking a basic question.

Meaning

Young and inexperienced, and showing it (literary / disapproving).

Examples

• “A callow press note promised “world-leading” before the first n.”
• “A callow press note promised “world-leading” before the first n existed.”
• “Naive is everyday. Callous is unfeeling (note the u). Callow youth is the set literary pairing. A first good question is inexperience, not callowness. Green is informal.”

Good to know

Immature; green (disapproving). Everyday: naive / immature. Mix-up: callous (cruel). Asking a basic question is not callow.

Near in meaning

naive

New