Emily Dickinson Lexicon

IN'FANT-LIKE, a.

Like an infant Shak.

IN'FANT-LY, a.

Like a child. Beaum.

INF'ANT-RY, n. [Fr. infanterie; Sp. infanteria; It. fanteria. See Infant.]

In military affairs, the soldiers or troops that serve on foot, as distinguished from cavalry; as, a company, regiment or brigade of infantry. In some armies, there have been heavy-armed infantry, and light-armed or light infantry, according to their manner of arming and equipping.

IN-FARCE', v.t. [infàrs.]

To stuff. [Not in use.]

IN-FARC'TION, n. [L. infarcio, infercio, to stuff; in and farcio.]

The act of stuffing or filling; constipation. Harvey.

IN-FASH'ION-A-BLE, a.

Unfashionable. [Not used.] Beaum.

IN-FAT'I-GA-BLE, a.

Indefatigable. [Obs.]

IN-FAT'U-ATE, a.

Infatuated.

IN-FAT'U-ATE, v.t. [L. infatuo; and fatuus, foolish.]

1. To make foolish; to affect with folly; to weaken the intellectual powers, or to deprive of sound judgment. In general, this word does not signify to deprive absolutely of rational powers and reduce to idiocy, but to deprive of sound judgment, so that a person infatuated acts in certain cases as a fool, or without common discretion and prudence. Whom God intends to destroy, he first infatuates. The judgment of God will be very visible in infatuating a people, ripe and prepared for destruction. Clarendon.
2. To prepossess or incline to a person or thing in a manner not justified by prudence or season; to inspire with an extravagant or foolish passion, too obstinate to be controlled by reason. Men are often infatuated with a love of gaming, or of sensual pleasure.

IN-FAT'U-A-TED, pp.

Affected with folly.

IN-FAT'U-A-TING, ppr.

Affecting with folly.

IN-FAT-U-A'TION, n.

1. The act of affecting with folly.
2. A state of mind in which the intellectual powers are weakened, either generally, or in regard to particular objects, so that the person affected acts without his usual judgment, and contrary to the dictates of reason. All men who waste their substance in gaming, intemperance or any other vice, are chargeable with infatuation.

IN-FAUST'ING, n. [L. infaustus.]

The act of making unlucky. [Obs.] – Bacon.

IN-FEAS-I-BIL'I-TY, or IN-FEAS'I-BLE-NESS, n. [s as z. from infeasible.]

Impracticability; the quality of not being capable of being one or performed.

IN-FEAS'I-BLE, a. [s as z. in and feasible, Fr. faisable, from faire, to make or do, L. facio.]

Not to be done; that can not be accomplished; impracticable. – Glanville.

IN-FECT', a.

Infected. [Not used.]

IN-FECT', v.t. [Fr. infecter; Sp. infectar; It. infettare; L. inficio, infectus; in and facio. In this application of inficio, as in inficior, to deny, we find the radical sense of facio, to make, which is to thrust, to drive. To infect, is to thrust in; to deny is to thrust against, that is, to thrust away, to repel. And here we observe the different effects of the prefix in, upon the verb.]

1. To taint with disease; to infuse into a healthy body the virus, miasma, or morbid matter of a diseased body, or any pestilential or noxious air or substance by which a disease is produced. Persons in health are infected by the contagion of the plague, of syphilis, of small pox, of measles, of malignant fevers. In some cases, persons can be infected only by contact, as in syphilis; in most cases, they may be infected without contact with the diseased body.
2. To taint or affect with morbid or noxious matter; as, to infect a lancet; to infect clothing; to infect an apartment.
3. To communicate bad qualities to; to corrupt; to taint by the communication of any thing noxious or pernicious. It is melancholy to see the young infected and corrupted by vicious examples, or the minds of our citizens infected with errors.
4. To contaminate with illegality.

IN-FECT'ED, pp.

Tainted with noxious matter; corrupted by poisonous exhalations; corrupted by bad qualities communicated.

IN-FECT'ER, n.

He or that which infects.

IN-FECT'ING, ppr.

Tainting; corrupting.

IN-FEC'TION, n. [Fr. from L. inficio.]

1. The act or process of infecting.
2. The thing which infects. In medicine, the terms infection and contagion are used as synonymous in a great majority of cases. Different writers proposed and attempted to make a distinction between them, but there has been a great disagreement as to what the distinction should be; and in general no regard is paid to the proposed distinctions. Infection is used in two acceptations; first, as denoting the effluvium or infectious matter exhaled from the person of one diseased, in which sense it is synonymous with contagion; and secondly, as signifying the act of communication of such morbid effluvium, by which diseases is transferred. – Cyc.
3. That which taints, poisons or corrupts by communication from one to another; as, the infection of error or of evil example.
4. Contamination by illegality, as in cases of contraband goods.
5. Communication of like qualities. Mankind are gay or serious by infection. – Rambler.

IN-FEC'TIOUS, a.

1. Having qualities that may taint, or communicate disease to; as, an infectious fever; infectious clothing; infectious air; infectious miasma.
2. Corrupting; tending to taint by communication; as, infectious vices or manners.
3. Contaminating with illegality; exposing to seizure and forfeiture. Contraband articles are said to be of an infectious nature. – Kent.
4. Capable of being communicated by near approach. Grief as well as joy is infectious. – Kames.

IN-FEC'TIOUS-LY, adv.

By infection.

IN-FEC'TIOUS-NESS, n.

The quality of being infectious, or capable of communicating disease or taint from one to another.

IN-FECT'IVE, a.

Having the quality of communicating disease or taint from one to another. – Sidney.