What does infantilism mean?
Infantilism is a noun for behavior regarded as characteristically childlike, immature, or excessively dependent when found in an adult. It can describe someone who avoids responsibility, reacts to difficulties in a childish way, or continues to expect others to provide care. The word generally carries a strongly negative or dismissive connotation outside specialized discussion, so it is more pointed than simply saying that someone is immature. In older medical and psychological usage, it also referred to the persistence of infantile characteristics in an older person, including aspects of physical or psychological development. Because the expression can sound both clinical and judgmental, careful speakers distinguish between describing a pattern of behavior and making a diagnosis. It is especially useful when discussing how adults may adopt, deliberately or otherwise, behaviors associated with early childhood.
nounInfantilism is immature or childlike behavior in an adult. In medical and psychological contexts, it can also refer to a condition in which adult characteristics or behavior remain persistently infantile.
- Behavior in an adult that is regarded as excessively immature, dependent, or childlike.
- A medical or psychological condition characterized by the persistence of infantile characteristics or behavior in an older person.
"His colleagues dismissed his refusal to make decisions as mere infantilism."
"The novel explores the infantilism of a privileged adult who refuses to accept responsibility."
"The condition was historically described as a form of infantilism persisting into adulthood."
The plural is grammatically possible but uncommon; specialized medical writing may distinguish individual cases or patterns of infantilism.
"The study compares several forms of infantilism observed in clinical cases."
Infantilism takes the ordinary meaning of infancy and turns it into a label for adults whose conduct appears to have never left the nursery.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does infantilism come from?
Infantilism is formed from the Latin infantilis, meaning “of or pertaining to an infant,” together with the suffix -ism, which forms a noun indicating a condition, practice, or characteristic. The Latin adjective belongs to the same family as infant, infancy, and infantile, all of which express the idea of early childhood. The English noun developed as a term for childlike or infantile characteristics and was later applied within medicine and psychology to persistent infantile behavior or development in adults.
Related word forms
How infantilism is actually used
In general use, the term is pejorative and suggests immaturity or an unwillingness to behave responsibly. Its medical and psychological senses are specialized and may require careful context.
Easily confused with infantilism
Infantilism is a noun denoting immature behavior or an infantile condition, whereas infantile is an adjective describing something associated with infants or displaying childlike qualities.
Infancy means the early period of a child's life, while infantilism describes behavior or characteristics that are considered childlike or abnormally immature.