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.
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
Later in her trial, jurors were given the option to consider an alternative verdict of infanticide rather than murder if they believed she killed Stanley whilst the balance of her mind was disturbed.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2023
Cujas thought the Romans considered infanticide a crime, but a crime generically different from homicide.
From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 2 of 2) by Lecky, William Edward Hartpole
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.
