juvenilia

plural noun

ju·​ve·​nil·​ia ˌjü-və-ˈni-lē-ə How to pronounce juvenilia (audio)
1
: compositions produced in the artist's or author's youth
2
: artistic or literary compositions suited to or designed for the young

Examples of juvenilia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The décor is street-art juvenilia with a stoner twist and an adolescent raunchiness. Curbed, 28 Sep. 2022 But his juvenilia, much of which was originally circulated in underground journals, could do with some further snipping. Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2019 Speaking to the Times, Sacks regretted his collegiate anti-gay screeds, but didn’t seem too concerned about the juvenilia directed at women, nor the status of his female co-eds, the majority of whom dropped out of the business. Nina Burleigh, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2015 When Ready Player One protagonist Wade warps into an elaborate virtual world, his intellectually empty but encyclopedic knowledge of nostalgic juvenilia isn't just cool—it's needed to save the day. Ryan Smith, Chicago Reader, 8 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'juvenilia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin, neuter plural of juvenilis

First Known Use

1622, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of juvenilia was in 1622

Dictionary Entries Near juvenilia

Cite this Entry

“Juvenilia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juvenilia. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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