infantile
infantile Lexical Profile
infantile Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Exhibiting a lack of maturity in an older child or adult; childish and foolish.
"The committee quickly grew tired of his infantile temper tantrums during the budget negotiations."
Of, relating to, or affecting infants or the earliest stage of childhood.
"The pediatric clinic specializes in diagnosing and treating rare infantile neurological disorders."
Word Nuance & Usage
When applied to older children or adults, 'infantile' is strongly pejorative, criticizing behavior as foolishly immature; in medical or clinical contexts, however, it neutrally denotes conditions occurring during infancy.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from French infantile or directly from Latin infantilis ('of or belonging to infants'), from infans, literally meaning 'unable to speak' (from in- 'not' and fari 'to speak').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.