Meanings
plural callownesses
- uncountableusuallyThe condition of being callow; immaturity.
It is likely that historians will look back on American life and see it — with its truths and errors, its callownesses and obsessions and insights, its childishness and its power — as one of the memorable civilizations of history.
1957, Max Lerner, America as a Civilization, page 61
Synonyms & antonyms
nounlacking and evidencing lack of experience of life
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishcalowʒnes“baldness”
- Englishcallowness
From Middle English calowʒnes (“baldness”), equivalent to callow + -ness. Cognate with West Frisian kealens (“baldness”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
callowness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callowness
“callowness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callowness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “callowness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callowness.
Source: callowness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.