as in childish
having or showing the annoying qualities (as silliness) associated with children
the infantile humor that teenage boys are justly famous for
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Recent Examples of infantile
This suggests that the immune system may be involved in infantile amnesia.
—
Veronique Greenwood, Time, 23 Feb. 2026
The incredibly painful, totally infantile, Banana Republic government shutdown ends.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2025
The infantile form of Tay-Sachs manifests between three and six months of age, undermining gross motor control, worsening into seizures, deafness, and paralysis, and death by age five.
—New Atlas, 7 Nov. 2025
Muscle Man is a deeply ironic book, creating a vast chasm between Harold’s strongman self-image and his infantile powers of self-expression.
—Robert Rubsam, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infantile
Veronique Greenwood, Time, 23 Feb. 2026
The incredibly painful, totally infantile, Banana Republic government shutdown ends.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2025
The infantile form of Tay-Sachs manifests between three and six months of age, undermining gross motor control, worsening into seizures, deafness, and paralysis, and death by age five.
—New Atlas, 7 Nov. 2025
Muscle Man is a deeply ironic book, creating a vast chasm between Harold’s strongman self-image and his infantile powers of self-expression.
—Robert Rubsam, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infantile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infantile
Adjective
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Giant, a play about Dahl running on Broadway through June, is anything but childish.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
-
Garrincha was characterised as childish and moronic in psychological tests commissioned by the Brazilian federation before that tournament in Sweden and was then left out of their first two games.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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On a blind date, his descriptions of magical griffins and burning deserts sound humiliatingly immature.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
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Beckham is charismatic and generally more thoughtful than the perception created by the impulsive or immature decisions that create headlines.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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This ideal of masculinity is not a patriarch but a perpetual adolescent, endlessly irresponsible and endlessly indulged.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
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The diary became a map of adolescent rivalry.—
Kate Casey,
Vanity Fair,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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His new path takes him to grad school at Columbia University, with hopes to one day start his own nonprofit, Camp Reese, a bootcamp-style alternative to juvenile incarceration.—
Rina Nakano,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
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Plans are in motion, however, to reuse the Lincoln Developmental Center, a compound for developmentally disabled adults that was closed years ago, as a juvenile justice facility.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Infantile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infantile. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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