infantile

[in-fuhn-tahyl, -til]

See more synonyms for infantile on Thesaurus.com

adjective

characteristic of or befitting an infant; babyish; childish: infantile behavior.
of or relating to infants or infancy: infantile diseases.
Physical Geography. youthful(def 5).

Origin of infantile

From the Latin word infantīlis, dating back to 1690–1700. See infant, -ile

Related formsin·fan·til·i·ty

[in-fuhn-til-i-tee] /ˌɪn fənˈtɪl ɪ ti/, noun

Synonyms for infantile

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1. puerile, immature, weak.

Synonym study

1. See childish.

Antonyms for infantile

1. adult, mature.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for infantile

childish, sophomoric, immature, juvenile, youthful

Examples from the Web for infantile

Contemporary Examples of infantile

At one point, Valle offered an apology to anybody who had been “hurt, shocked or offended by my infantile actions.”
Why NYPD Couldn’t Cook The ‘Cannibal Cop’
Michael Daly
July 2, 2014
It was sweet and funny and self-deprecating, nothing like the infantile behavior she had just displayed.
Supermodel Iman Walked Out on Me
Kevin Sessums
November 10, 2010
It's how we project our own catastrophe of infantile adulthood.
2009: The Most Impulsive Year Ever
Lee Siegel
December 18, 2009

Historical Examples of infantile

No bitterness, but a divine, infantile gaiety attended the departure.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
Infantile paradoxy is, however, very different to senile paradoxy.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
It is infantile paralysis, a disease common with delicate children.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
It is not infantile paralysis, and he can not yet say what 345 it is.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
First that infantile, inexcusable business of the shutters, and now this!
The Moon is Green
Fritz Reuter Leiber

British Dictionary definitions for infantile

infantile

adjective

like a child in action or behaviour; childishly immature; puerile
of, relating to, or characteristic of infants or infancy
in an early stage of development

Derived Formsinfantility (ˌɪnfənˈtɪlɪtɪ), noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for infantile

adj.

mid-15c., "pertaining to infants," from Latin infantilis "pertaining to an infant," from infans (see infant). Sense of "infant-like" is from 1772.

infantile in Medicine

infantile

[ĭn′fən-tīl′, -tĭl]

adj.

Of or relating to infants or infancy.
Displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity; extremely childish.