enfantillage

childishness

noun ahn-fahn-TEE-yahzh Rare

Usage Note

Enfantillage (also found in the plural enfantillages) refers to behaviour that is naive, trivial, or childish — the kind of silliness one expects from a child but not an adult. It is mildly pejorative and usually implies disappointed impatience. Derived from enfant ('child'), it is related to infantile ('infantile') but is distinctly French in register and nuance.

Examples

"Arrête ces enfantillages, tu es adulte."

Natural Translation

Stop this childishness, you're an adult.

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