noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The property or state of being a baby or being babylike. uncountable
2. 2
   Babylike physical traits, such as large eyes, theorized by Konrad Lorenz to evoke a caregiving response in adults. uncountable

Etymology

From baby + -ness.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.