infantilism
Americannoun
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the persistence in an adult of markedly childish anatomical, physiological, or psychological characteristics.
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an infantile act, trait, etc., especially in an adult.
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a speech disorder characterized by speech and voice patterns that are typical of very young children.
noun
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psychol
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a condition in which an older child or adult is mentally or physically undeveloped
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isolated instances of infantile behaviour in mature persons
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childish speech; baby talk
Etymology
Origin of infantilism
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Someone with her intelligence level, matched with an incredibly juvenile infantilism, when those two things come together well, that’s comedy magic,” Seinfeld says.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 16, 2018
Not even Tolkien’s vast philological scholarship, his deep knowledge of mythology, and his world-building skills could impress what Moorcock and company saw as a troublesome infantilism inherent in Tolkien’s work.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 31, 2014
Even my son’s embarrassed by the infantilism of my tastes, but there’s some good stuff out there now.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 25, 2014
I can’t understand the appeal of a book based on arrested growth, permanent infantilism; most kids want to grow up, not to be mothered for the rest of their lives.
From Time ● May 9, 2012
Then there is infantilism, which is helped by the giving of thyroid extract.
From The Glands Regulating Personality by Louis Berman M.D.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
