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.
Sheldrick said it was possible that the hippo's mother died in a "territorial fight... protecting her calf, as infanticide is common in hippo society".
From BBC • May 6, 2026
In more than half of the nests, infanticide didn’t occur when a female took a new mate.
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
“They think it’s a heinous crime, akin to infanticide, Auschwitz,” Radosevich said.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 11, 2020
Rao Desalji II. did much to suppress infanticide, suttee and the slave trade in his state.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various
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.
