INFANTILIZED Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

infantilized

adjective

as in infantile

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of infantilized When one friend is habitually the payer, others may feel grateful, indebted, infantilized or even relieved. — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026 Del Toro presents Oscar Isaac’s Frankenstein and Elordi’s Creature less as equals terrorizing each other and more as an abusive father and neglected son, a dynamic that keeps the Creature in a sort of infantilized state. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for infantilized

Adjective

Many have remarked that there is something touchingly infantile in both the watching and the making of a trash movie.

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Among them is his baby son, who rests in ‘infantile sublimity, exuding a high gloss induced by early death….

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of infantile

Adjective

Suzanne O’Donnell, an accomplished regional theater actor with a lot of Shakespeare on her resume, plays Penrose as both a warm mothering figure to these two occasionally babyish men but does not downplay the character’s pragmatic side.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
Paige is little more than a dumb blonde stereotype, another underwritten female character in Sheridan’s growing oeuvre, but Chapman laces her babyish whining with surprising bite, while showing a knack for physical comedy.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2026

Definition of babyish

Adjective

Perhaps the kid is resisting gendered socialization itself, the whole ascent to physical adulthood and its attendant adolescent affronts.

— Matthew McLean, Artforum, 22 Sep. 2026
For an adolescent navigating friendships, rejection, identity and belonging, something that never judges them or gossips and is always available can be incredibly compelling.

— Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of adolescent

Adjective

Parents ship young children abroad; white-collar professionals become fast-food workers; migration cleaves young lovers.

— Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Later, this same organic material hitched a ride on crashing meteorites to seed a young, barren Earth.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of young

Adjective

One of the tramps jumping off a freight car was the juvenile player, Frankie Darrow.

— Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026
The letter cites a recent WPLN and ProPublica investigation that found that juvenile justice facilities run by Tennessee businessman Jason Crews repeatedly failed to report abuse of children and other serious incidents to the state as required.

— Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of juvenile

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infantile

infantilized

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“Infantilized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infantilized. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of infantilized

adjective

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