infancy

UK /ˈɪnfənsi/ US /ˈɪnfənsi/

noun 4

Definitions

noun

The earliest period of childhood (crawling rather than walking).

The state of being an infant.

An early stage in the development of anything.

Space tourism is still in its infancy.

It was in November, 1932, in an endeavour to reduce working costs, that the first diesel railcar was introduced, and it was a far-sighted move on the part of Mr. D. N. McClure, for diesel propulsion on railways was then more or less in its infancy.

The state of being a minor.

Collocations

(noun.)

ADJ

early

The technology was still in its early infancy when most people didn't understand how to use it.

VERB + INFANCY

survive (beyond)

The new technology survived infancy and eventually became widely used across the industry.

die in

Many children in developing countries still die in infancy from preventable diseases.

PREP

during/in ~

The technology industry was still in its infancy when personal computers first became available to home users.

from ~

She has been dancing from infancy and now performs professionally around the world.

since (sb's) ~

My grandmother has lived in this house since her infancy and never wanted to move.

throughout (sb's) ~

The company struggled with various problems throughout its infancy before becoming successful.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — the earliest state of immaturity

babyhood

noun — the early stage of growth or development

babyhood

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

Space tourism is still in its infancy.

Wiktionary

Space science is still in its infancy.

Tatoeba · #27031

My infancy was more than happy.

Tatoeba · #1467611

Character building begins in our infancy and continues until death.

Tatoeba · #6918516

Her brother died in infancy.

Tatoeba · #8165265

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, infancy is marked as figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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