What does infant mean?
Word: Infant
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Infant means a baby or a very young child who cannot yet walk or talk much.
Synonyms: baby, newborn, babe
Antonyms: grown-up
Word origin: Comes from Latin infans, unable to speak, from in-, not, and fari, to speak.
How do you spell infant?
Syllables: in - fant
Tricky part: It ends in ant, not ent: infent is the common slip. The first part is in, not im.
Watch out for: infent, infunt, imfant
Memory tip: Think of the Latin infans, unable to speak: an infant is too young to talk. Write in, then fant, ending with the a of that Latin word.
Infant in a sentence
Example 1: The infant gripped my finger with surprising strength.
Example 2: Infants need to be fed every few hours.
Example 3: The new vaccine is given to infants at six weeks.
Fun Fact
The word infant has royal relatives: in Spain and Portugal, a king's son who was not the heir had the title infante, and a king's daughter was an infanta.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. infant 2. todler 3. adolesent 4. teenajer
a) a young child who is just learning to walk
b) a young person between childhood and full growth
c) a baby or very young child
d) a person aged between thirteen and nineteen
Show answer
c) a baby or very young child. Only infant is correct; toddler doubles the d, adolescent has sc and teenager has a g.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The nurse in the maternity ward gently wrapped the infant in a soft cotton blankit and handed her to her smiling grandmother.
a) grandmother
b) infant
c) blankit
d) maternity
Show answer
c) blankit. Blanket ends in et, the same as jacket and pocket, so blankit is wrong.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to infant as used in the sentence:
The infant slept peacefully through the noisy wedding band.
a) twin
b) cousin
c) neighbour
d) adult
Show answer
d) adult. An infant is at the very start of life, so the opposite is an adult.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The anfnti smiled and reached for its own reflection in the mirror.
a) instant
b) infant
c) faint
d) distant
Show answer
b) infant. Six letters with two n's and an f: faint is one letter short, and instant and distant need an s.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An infant industry is one that ____.
a) makes food for babies
b) has only just started up
c) is run by a single family
d) has been going for centuries
Show answer
b) has only just started up
2. Infant schools in Britain are for children aged about ____.
a) fifteen to eighteen
b) ten to sixteen
c) twenty to twenty-five
d) four to seven
Show answer
d) four to seven
