infancy

noun

in·fan·cy | \ ˈin-fən(t)-sē

plural infancies

Definition of infancy

1 : early childhood

2 : a beginning or early period of existence

3 : the legal status of an infant

Examples of infancy in a Sentence

She was often sick during her infancy. a skill developed in infancy She has been a member of the church since its infancy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Questions about government transparency began with the task group's infancy. — Kaitlin Lange, Indianapolis Star, "Westfield mayor pushed for Grand Junction Plaza project. His two sons profited from the deal.," 11 July 2019 Maternal depression can hinder child development and even affect a child’s psychological health well beyond infancy. — Olivia Campbell, Good Housekeeping, "I've Struggled With Depression, So I Can't Always Be The "Happy" Mom," 8 July 2019 Transitioning from a stone-age offense that was among the worst in football to a high-powered unit built for the modern game cannot happen overnight, though, especially with a quarterback who is still in his NFL infancy. — Michael Beller, SI.com, "Fantasy Football: David Johnson, Kenyan Drake Among Early 2019 Bounceback Candidates," 14 June 2019 Farid has been studying image forensics since the late 1990s, back when digital cameras were in their infancy and film still reigned supreme. — Rachel Metz, CNN, "The fight to stay ahead of deepfake videos before the 2020 US election," 12 June 2019 The gay rights movement was in its infancy, and police officers weren’t in the habit of donning rainbow colors and marching in parades to show their support. — Jim Byers, latimes.com, "NYC is all about pride as it celebrates Stonewall's 50th anniversary," 9 June 2019 The debate is still in its infancy and the experts have at times grappled with basic definitions. — Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, "'Killer robots' are coming and the world is trying to figure out what to do with them," 27 Aug. 2018 At the same time, the Tejano music scene was still in its infancy. — Paula Allen, ExpressNews.com, "Before she became a Tejano queen, Lydia Mendoza played humble venues," 15 June 2019 In 2005, when Facebook was still for college students; Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram did not yet exist; and most news websites were in their infancy, Cosby’s people were able to control the media. — Longreads, "How the Cosby Story Finally Went Viral — And Why It Took So Long," 7 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'infancy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about infancy

Dictionary Entries near infancy

infamous crime

infamous crime against nature

Statistics for infancy

Last Updated

14 Jul 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for infancy

The first known use of infancy was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for infancy

infancy

noun

English Language Learners Definition of infancy

: the first part of a child's life : the time in your life when you are a baby

: a beginning : an early stage of development

See the full definition for infancy in the English Language Learners Dictionary

infancy

noun

in·fan·cy | \ ˈin-fən-sē

plural infancies

Kids Definition of infancy

1 : the first stage of a child's life : early childhood

2 : a beginning or early period of existence The program is in its infancy.

infancy

noun

in·fan·cy | \ ˈin-fən-sē

plural infancies

Medical Definition of infancy

1 : early childhood

2 : the legal status of an infant

Keep scrolling for more

infancy

noun

in·fan·cy | \ ˈin-fən-sē

plural infancies

Legal Definition of infancy

1 : the legal status of an infant : minority

2 : the affirmative defense of lacking legal capacity (as to make a contract or commit a crime) because of being too young and especially because one's age is below an age set by statute