man-child

noun

ˈman-ˌchī(-ə)ld 

plural men-children ˈmen-ˌchil-drən 

-dərn

1

: a male child : son

… it came to her what a glory it would be to be the mother of a man-child like this.

—Jack London

2

: a man who has the qualities of a child : a childlike man

… a largely likable tale about a 38-year-old man-child trying finally to grow up.

—Manohla Dargis

Examples of man-child in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Charlie Day played her son, janitor/man-child Charlie Kelly. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2025

Musk is often portrayed as an easily bored man-child who is driven by id and an unrivaled ego. —Zachary Karabell, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2025

The film starts as a riff on codependent relationships and a narcissistic man-child who nevertheless gets everyone around him to do his bidding, but as the plot swerves in one direction after the other, the satire gets lost. —Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 2 Feb. 2025

This makes Solo an interesting foil for Nichols, a whimpering man-child to her hypercompetent and quiet loner. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for man-child

• beguiled
• brainchild
• compiled
• defiled
• exiled
• grandchild
• profiled
• refiled
• reviled
• stepchild
• stockpiled
• domiciled