infantilize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to keep in or reduce to an infantile state.
-
to treat or regard as infantile or immature.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of infantilize
1940–45; infantile + -ize, or by back formation from infantilization
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.
Public policy shouldn’t infantilize people simply because minors might misuse a product.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
We infantilize them, as though only in having a present, committed partner are we truly grown-ups.
From Salon • Nov. 24, 2022
Efforts to create these “safe spaces” seemed, to me, to infantilize students by insulating them from speech they found the least bit upsetting.
From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2022
Nor am I against the idea of confronting children with something genuinely dark and audacious, especially given how quick the film industry usually is to infantilize its youngest consumers.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2019
Don’t infantilize him by saying his self-esteem is too low for you to admit you violated the terms of your agreement.
From Slate • Apr. 9, 2019
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.
