infanticide
Americannoun
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the act of killing an infant.
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the practice of killing newborn infants.
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a person who kills an infant.
noun
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the killing of an infant
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the practice of killing newborn infants, still prevalent in some primitive tribes
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a person who kills an infant
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of infanticide
1650–60; infanticide ( def. 1 ) < Late Latin infanticīdium; infanticide ( def. 2 ) < Late Latin infanticīda. See infant, -i-, -cide
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.
In August, the woman, whose identity is protected by an anonymity order, pleaded guilty to infanticide and attempted murder.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Amid this bloodshed, however, researchers noticed a more peaceful resolution to familial upheaval: Adoptions of unrelated chicks by stepparents was just as common as infanticide.
From Science Magazine ● May 5, 2024
From the moment a male lion is born it faces a gauntlet of challenges – from snakebite and hungry hyenas to infanticide at the hands of other male lions.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 21, 2023
Jurors rejected Dickason’s legal defenses under New Zealand’s insanity and infanticide laws.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
"Pagan and Christian authorities are united in speaking of infanticide as a crying vice of the empire."
From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by William Graham Sumner
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.
