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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of infantile
The program is the legacy of Dr. Stephen Arnon, chief of the Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program at the California health department, who dedicated his life to finding a treatment for infantile botulism.
—
Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
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
Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
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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That’s as childish an expression as the show ever shares.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
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The use of childish internet and video-game memes to describe violence is coarse and unworthy of the men and women who go in harm’s way.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Only this week, Conway doubled down with a stunt in front of Mfume’s district office, an act that would be immature and juvenile in an elementary school student government election, let alone a campaign for Congress.—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
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Faced with the prospect of deciding between Urlacher, a late bloomer in high school who almost wasn’t recruited before becoming a college All-American, and Michigan State receiver Plaxico Burress, regarded throughout the NFL as gifted but immature, the Bears did not have to choose.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Even Michael’s social life is left blank, far beyond his adolescent solitudes.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
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Relatedly, another study published Friday in JAMA Network Open found that rates of adolescent cannabis use increased after recreational use was legalized in California, but decreased after the Covid pandemic.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The boat had 13 people on board, including seven men, five women and a juvenile female.—
Robert McGreevy,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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But in the weeks ahead, juvenile nymphs will become more common.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Infantile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infantile. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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