Young-looking
adj.energetic, joyfuleveryday
What it means
Appearing younger than a person's actual or expected age.
Reach for it when describing perceived age only when appearance is relevant and welcome
The young-looking actor could portray the character across two decades.
Choose between these
6- playful
baby-faced
when rounded facial features create the impression
not when Baby-faced can infantilize an adult and says nothing about overall appearance.
- playful
when an unlined, inexperienced appearance is relevant
not when Fresh-faced can imply naivety and often suits only younger adults.
- warm
when freshness extends beyond visible age
not when Youthful can praise energy or manner without describing looks.
- professional
youthful-looking
when a neutral close paraphrase is needed
not when The phrase remains an appearance judgment and may be no more welcome.
- formal
unlined
when smooth facial skin is the precise visual detail
not when Unlined narrows the description to skin and can invite intrusive scrutiny.
- literary
age-defying
when promotional exaggeration is deliberately being quoted
not when Age-defying treats aging as an enemy and makes an unsupported claim.
Said against
3- old-looking
- weathered
- mature-looking
It naturally appears in
3- young-looking face
His young-looking face led the casting team to check the age range again.
- remarkably young-looking
She was remarkably young-looking, though the profile focused on her research.
- young-looking performer
The young-looking performer relied on posture to signal the later scenes.
Where this comes from
Perceived age is subjective. Young-looking is not inherently positive and should not be offered as unsolicited praise.
Young-looking is not a headword in the dictionaries below. The sense was checked against their entries for youthful, and the definition and example here are written for Young-looking itself.
- Cambridge Dictionary, the entry for youthful, adjective sense: having the fresh appearance or qualities associated with youth opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.