infantile
UK/'infәntail/US
GREC2
Definitions
adj.
Relating to infants or early childhood.
婴儿的；幼儿的。
adj.
Childishly silly and immature (of an adult's behavior).
（指成人行为）幼稚的，不成熟的。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedin-not, opposite of
+
fantbefore, in front of (Latin ante)
+
-ilerelating to, having the nature of
=infantile
From infant + -ile (relating to). Infant itself is in- (not) + fans 'speaking' (Latin fari) = 'one who cannot yet speak' — a baby. So infantile means 'baby-like.' Note: the -ant here is NOT the root ante 'before'; it is the participle of 'speak,' so this word does not belong to the ante family.
Common Collocations
- 1.infantile behavior幼稚的行为
- 2.infantile paralysis小儿麻痹症
Example Sentences
- 1.
The illness mainly affects children in their infantile years.
- 2.
Stop sulking — it's such infantile behavior.
- 3.
His infantile jokes annoyed everyone at the meeting.