infant
[noun]
Synonyms: baby, babe, bairn (Scot.), child, toddler, tot

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English Thesaurus: baby, toddler, infant, little one, young, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. in‧fant¹ W3 /ˈɪnfənt/ noun
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: enfant, from Latin infans, from infans 'unable to speak', from fari 'to speak']

1. [countable] formal a baby or very young child:
An infant’s skin is very sensitive. ⇒ Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

2. infants [plural] children in school in Britain between the ages of four and eight

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. infant² adjective [only before noun]

1. infant school/teacher/class etc a school, teacher etc for children aged between four and eight in Britain

2. intended for babies or very young children:
infant formula milk

3. an infant company, organization etc has just started to exist or be developed:
infant industries

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

infant
noun
ADJ. young He is studying hearing in very young infants.
newborn | unborn | stillborn | pre-term, premature jaundice in premature infants
full-term | healthy, normal | low birthweight | human a book on intellectual development in the human infant
female, male | screaming, sleeping Marjorie looked down at the sleeping infant in her arms.
INFANT + NOUN death, mortality countries with high infant mortality
child, daughter, son
PHRASES sudden infant death syndrome

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

infant

a young infant
The never-ending demands of a young infant can be very stressful for parents.
a newborn infant
Newborn infants only a few hours old can distinguish between different voices.
an unborn infant
Unborn infants can hear certain sounds while still in the mother’s womb.
a premature infant (=born too early)
The hospital provides life-saving care to premature infants.
a healthy infant
Amy gave birth to a healthy infant.
a sick infant
Sick infants are treated in the intensive care nursery.
infant deaths
The number of infant deaths has fallen significantly.
infant mortality (=the number of infants who die)
The infant mortality rate doubled during the 1990s.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

infant
noun
BAD: I had to stay at home and look after my infants.
GOOD: I had to stay at home and look after my children.

Usage Note:
Infant (= a baby or very young child) is used mainly in literary and technical styles: 'The infant, cradled in Mariam's arms, began to cry.' 'There are clear differences in temperament and speed of learning among infants at this early stage.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

baby a very young child who has not yet learned to speak or walk:
I sat next to a woman holding a baby.
toddler a baby who has learned how to walk:
The playground has a special area for toddlers.
infant formal a baby or a very young child:
The disease is mainly found in infants.
little one spoken informal a baby, or a small child up to the age of about three:
How old is your little one?
young the babies of an animal or bird:
Kangaroos carry their young in a pouch.
litter a group of baby animals that are born at the same time to the same mother:
Our cat has just had a litter of six kittens.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

young not old:
a young man of about 22
My dad died when I was young.
There are excellent facilities for young children.
Young people are often unable to get jobs.
small/little a small child is very young. Little sounds more informal than small, and is used especially in spoken English:
They have two small children.
We used to go camping a lot when the kids were little.
teenage [only before noun] between the ages of 13 and 19:
a group of teenage boys
They have three teenage children.
adolescent especially written at the age when you change from being a child into an adult – used especially when talking about the problems that young people have at this age:
Sudden mood changes are common in adolescent girls.
adolescent behaviour
juvenile /ˈdʒuːvənaɪl $ -nəl, -naɪl/ [only before noun] formal connected with young people who commit crime:
juvenile crime
a special prison for juvenile offenders
juvenile deliquents (=young people who commit crimes)
youthful especially written seeming young, or typical of someone who is young – often used about someone who is no longer young:
a youthful 55 year old
youthful enthusiasm
Andrew still has a slim youthful look about him.
The photograph showed a youthful, smiling Rose.
junior connected with sports played by young people rather than adults:
the junior championships
the junior champion
childhood the time when you are a child, especially a young child:
I had a wonderful childhood in the country.
childhood illnesses
girlhood/boyhood the time when you are a young girl or boy:
The two men had been friends in boyhood.
the transition from girlhood to womanhood
youth the time when you are young, especially between about 15 and 25 when you are no longer a child:
He was a great sportsman in his youth.
She revisited all the places where she had spent her youth.
adolescence the time when you are changing from being a child into an adult – used especially when you are talking about the problems people have at this age:
During adolescence, boys are often lacking in self-confidence.
infancy formal the time when you are a baby:
In the past, many more babies died in infancy.
baby a very young child who has not yet learned to speak or walk:
I sat next to a woman holding a baby.
toddler a baby who has learned how to walk:
The playground has a special area for toddlers.
infant formal a baby or a very young child:
The disease is mainly found in infants.
little one spoken informal a baby, or a small child up to the age of about three:
How old is your little one?
litter a group of baby animals that are born at the same time to the same mother:
Our cat has just had a litter of six kittens.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲