je·june

(jə-jo͞on′)

adj.

1. Not interesting; dull: "and there pour forth jejune words and useless empty phrases" (Anthony Trollope).

2. Lacking maturity; childish: surprised by their jejune responses to our problems.

3. Lacking in nutrition: a jejune diet.

[From Latin iēiūnus, meager, dry, fasting.]

je·june′ly adv.

je·june′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

jejune

(dʒɪˈdʒuːn)

adj

1. simple; naive; unsophisticated

2. insipid; dull; dry

3. lacking nourishment; insubstantial or barren

[C17: from Latin jējūnus hungry, empty]

jeˈjunely adv

jeˈjuneness, jeˈjunity n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

je•june

(dʒɪˈdʒun)

adj.

1. lacking interest or significance; insipid: a jejune novel.

2. lacking maturity; childish: jejune behavior.

3. lacking nutritive elements: a jejune diet.

[1605–15; < Latin jējūnus empty, poor, mean]

je•june′ly, adv.

je•june′ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	jejune - lacking in nutritive value; "the jejune diets of the very poor" insubstantial unwholesome - detrimental to physical or moral well-being; "unwholesome food"; "unwholesome habits like smoking"
	2.	jejune - displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity; "adolescent insecurity"; "jejune responses to our problems"; "their behavior was juvenile"; "puerile jokes" juvenile, puerile, adolescent immature - characteristic of a lack of maturity; "immature behavior"
	3.	jejune - lacking interest or significance or impact; "an insipid personality"; "jejune novel" insipid uninteresting - arousing no interest or attention or curiosity or excitement; "a very uninteresting account of her trip"

jejune

adjective

1. (Formal) simple, silly, juvenile, naive, pointless, childish, immature, senseless, unsophisticated, puerile They were of great service in correcting my jejune generalizations.

2. (Old-fashioned) dull, dry, banal, prosaic, colourless, uninteresting, inane, insipid, wishy-washy (informal), vapid We knew we were in for a pretty long, jejune evening.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

jejune

adjective

Lacking the qualities requisite for spiritedness and originality:

bland, innocuous, insipid, namby-pamby, vapid, washy, waterish, watery.

Informal: wishy-washy.

Translations

jejune

[dʒɪˈdʒuːn] ADJ

1. (= naïve) → cándido

2. (= dull) [subject] → árido; [evening] → aburrido

3. (= insipid) → insípido, sin sustancia

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

jejune

adj (liter: = dull) → fade, langweilig; (= naive, simple) → simpel

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

It is undeniable that but for the desire to be where Dorothea was, and perhaps the want of knowing what else to do, Will would not at this time have been meditating on the needs of the English people or criticising English statesmanship: he would probably have been rambling in Italy sketching plans for several dramas, trying prose and finding it too jejune, trying verse and finding it too artificial, beginning to copy "bits" from old pictures, leaving off because they were "no good," and observing that, after all, self-culture was the principal point; while in politics he would have been sympathizing warmly with liberty and progress in general.

View in context

I am not sure that he would not have longed for the quarrelling again, if it had ceased for an entire week; and it is certain that an acquiescent, mild wife would have left his meditations comparatively jejune and barren of mystery.

View in context

We pass in the world for sects and schools, for erudition and piety, and we are all the time jejune babes.

View in context

If so, that was thematically heavy-handed and cinematically jejune.

Love in the time of occupation

The celebrated act epitomizes genuine altruism, not the humdrum jejune play to the gallery by conventional politicians.

Makinde's Asset Declaration: Beyond A Hollow Ritual

In an election though, more candidates wanting to wrest the lone seat as in the case of the Speakership at the House of Representatives, it would be un-fun, if not a jejune contest ahead.

A 'listener' for a Speaker

JEJUNE A Overly simplistic B Light-hearted C Bird of the crow family who am I?

Time out EXTRA

Our universities dish out jejune research papers that are nothing short of cut-paste products.

Pakistan-India radio war

To criticize against it wouldn't be a jejune, but a better explanation to Ghanaians will be accepted with open arms.

Population Control; Are we there Yet?

Nothing is more certain than that the White Paper's jejune attempt to have it both ways will fail to survive serious scrutiny on either side of the Channel.

The British history of Brexit

President Duterte's criticism of the Creation story in Genesis is jejune. It is immature, not because it questions the very notion of a wise God (for the record, that's a good question), but because it understands the story in literal terms, and then proceeds to ridicule the literalness of it.

God: 'Who is this stupid man?'

Jejune: (a) hatred (b) luxurious (c) momism (d) uninteresting 6.

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