infantilizeverb [ T ]
also infantilise uk/ɪnˈfæn.tɪ.laɪz/us/ɪnˈfæn.tə.laɪz/usually disapprovingto treat someone as if that person were a child, with the result that they start behaving like one:
He argues that giving money to the poor infantilizes them and stops them from helping themselves.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Children & babies
- a mouth to feed idiom
- arrival
- babe
- babe in arms
- baby
- childlike
- childproof
- children
- crawler
- designer baby
- oops-a-daisy
- pacifier
- papoose
- perisher
- pest
- tomboy
- tot
- tyke
- urchin
- waif
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