Meanings
verbneotenize (third-person singular simple present neotenizes, present participle neotenizing, simple past and past participle neotenized)
present singular third person neotenizes · participle present neotenizing · participle past neotenized · past neotenized
- transitiveTo regard (an adult person or animal) as a child; to infantilize.
Among the explanations for why we in Western culture, and particularly contemporary American society, neotenize our animals as we do is our need to gain a sense of control over them.
1992, The Covenant of the Wild: Why Animals Chose Domestication
Cite this entry
APA
neotenize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neotenize
MLA
“neotenize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neotenize. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “neotenize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neotenize.
Source: neotenize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.