Infant Meaning
/ˈɪn.fənt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age after birth, needing almost constant care and attention.
nounA minor.
Sentence Examples
Good nutrition is vital for an infant's growth.
The infant has been exposed to radioactive rays.
CEFR Practice Quiz
A newborn ____ requires constant feeding every few hours and diaper changes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tired mother rocked the sleeping ____ in her arms until he finally stopped crying.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English infaunt, borrowed from Latin īnfantem, accusative masculine singular of īnfāns, nominal use of the adjective meaning 'not able to speak', from īn- (“not”) + fāns, present participle of for (“to speak”). The verb is from Anglo-Norman enfanter, from the same Latin source. Doublet of infante.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Thomas Humphrey Doleman died the 30th of August 1712, an infant, intestate and without issue; Lewis the next nephew died the 17th of April 1716, an infant about sixteen years old, having left his mother Mary Webb, ..."
— 1793, William Peere Williams, Samuel Compton Cox, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the High Court of Chancery, and of Some Special Cases Adjudged in the Court of King's Bench [1695-1735]: De Term. S. Trin. 1731, page 602:
"Retourned home, the royall Infant fell / Into her former fitt [...]."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
"Primary schooling in Ireland comprises two Infant years, which are equivalent to pre-school in other countries , and six grades or classes."
— 2019, Sandra Ballweg, Portfolioarbeit im Kontext von Sprachenunterricht, Göttingen University Press, →ISBN, page 26:
"Clearly, from the attention given to it, HMI believed that history should be part of the infant curriculum."
— 2022 November 21, Carol Aubrey, The Role of Subject Knowledge in the Early Years of Schooling, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN:
"Leaving Nantyglo, a small station at an altitude of 1,030 ft. with the platform on the eastern side, the train runs northwards over former G.W.R. metals, with the infant River Ebbw, a little more than a yard wide, on the west."
— 1957 October 26, William J. Skillern, “The Brynmawr & Western Valleys Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 696:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A newborn ____ requires constant feeding every few hours and diaper changes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tired mother rocked the sleeping ____ in her arms until he finally stopped crying.