wet-behind-the-ears

Fresh from school

Wet-behind-the-ears describes someone inexperienced or naïve, typically a newcomer to a field or situation.

The image is of a newborn animal not yet dry from birth—still so new to the world that the hollows behind the ears haven't dried.

He's a wet-behind-the-ears recruit who doesn't know the first thing about fieldwork.

inexperience

rookie

Inexperienced newcomer

beginner · newbie · apprentice · trainee · tyro · tenderfoot · raw · unseasoned · untrained · fledgling

naivete

gullible

Easily deceived

unworldly · ingenuous · impressionable · unsuspecting · guileless · wide-eyed · artless · childlike · unsophisticated · simple

Opposites
experience and worldliness

wet-behind-the-earsseasoned

Flavored or battle-tested

experienced · veteran · worldly-wise · world-weary · battle-scarred

Family

behind, wettest, wetter, wetting, wetted

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G