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    Infix: Definition and Examples: How and When Infixes Are Used

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    Florent Yao
    An infix is a word element inserted within the base form of a word to create a new word or intensify meaning. This process is called infixation. In English, the most common type of infix is the expletive, as seen in words like "fan-bloody-tastic." Infixes are rarely used in formal writing but can be found in colloquial language and slang. They may also appear in more casual press coverage focusing on pop culture. While additions normally attach to the start or end of English words, other languages more commonly use infixes within words.

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    Infix: Definition and Examples: How and When Infixes Are Used

    Uploaded by

    Florent Yao
    523 views2 pages
    An infix is a word element inserted within the base form of a word to create a new word or intensify meaning. This process is called infixation. In English, the most common type of infix is the expletive, as seen in words like "fan-bloody-tastic." Infixes are rarely used in formal writing but can be found in colloquial language and slang. They may also appear in more casual press coverage focusing on pop culture. While additions normally attach to the start or end of English words, other languages more commonly use infixes within words.

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    An infix is a word element inserted within the base form of a word to create a new word or intensify meaning. This process is called infixation. In English, the most common type of infix is the expletive, as seen in words like "fan-bloody-tastic." Infixes are rarely used in formal writing but can be found in colloquial language and slang. They may also appear in more casual press coverage focusing on pop culture. While additions normally attach to the start or end of English words, other languages more commonly use infixes within words.

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    523 views2 pages

    Infix: Definition and Examples: How and When Infixes Are Used

    Uploaded by

    Florent Yao
    An infix is a word element inserted within the base form of a word to create a new word or intensify meaning. This process is called infixation. In English, the most common type of infix is the expletive, as seen in words like "fan-bloody-tastic." Infixes are rarely used in formal writing but can be found in colloquial language and slang. They may also appear in more casual press coverage focusing on pop culture. While additions normally attach to the start or end of English words, other languages more commonly use infixes within words.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Infix: Definition and Examples

    By 
    Richard Nordquist
    Updated June 20, 2019

    An infix is a word element (a type of affix) that can be inserted within the
    base form of a word—rather than at its beginning or end—to create a new
    word or intensify meaning. The process of inserting an infix is
    called infixation. The most common type of infix in English grammar is
    the expletive, as in "fan-bloody-tastic." 

    "[A]s the term suggests, [an infix] is an affix which is incorporated inside


    another word. It is possible to see the general principle at work in certain
    expressions, occasionally used in fortuitous or aggravating circumstances
    by emotionally aroused English speakers: Hallebloodylujah!...In the
    movie Wish You Were Here, the main character expresses her aggravation
    (at another character's trying to contact her) by screaming Tell him I've
    gone to Singabloodypore!" (George Yule, "The Study of Language," 3rd ed.
    Cambridge University Press, 2006)

    How and When Infixes Are Used


    Rarely used in formal writing, expletive infixation can sometimes be heard
    in colloquial language and slang though probably not in polite company. 

    Infixation can make it into more casually themed press coverage (more
    likely in pop culture, as opposed to hard news), such as in "Prince William's
    former nanny [Tiggy Pettifer] has spoken of her joy at the engagement
    between the Prince and Kate Middleton, describing their union as 'fan-
    flaming-tastic.'" (Roya Nikkhah, "Prince William's Nanny Says Engagement
    Is 'Fan-Flaming-Tastic.'" The Telegraph [UK], Nov. 21, 2010)

    And author Ruth Wajnryb has further examples—from literature, no less.


    "This linguistic phenomenon is also known as the integrated adjective. In
    fact, a poem of that name by John O'Grady (aka Nino Culotta) was
    published in the eponymously titled A Book About Australia, in which
    numerous examples of the integrated adjective appear: me-bloody-self,
    kanga-bloody-roos, forty-bloody-seven, good e-bloody-nough." ("Expletive
    Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language." Free Press, 2005)
    In English, additions normally attach to the end or start of a word, with
    prefixes and suffixes, such as pre- or -ed. There are even circumfixes,
    which attach to the front and the back, as in enlighten. In Austroasiatic
    languages in Southeast Asia and eastern India, the use of the infix is more
    common and not used just to create expletives, as in English. In fact,
    "English has no true infixes, but the plural suffix -s behaves something like
    an infix in unusual plurals like passers-by and mothers-in-law" (R.L. Trask,
    "The Penguin Dictionary of English Grammar," 2000). 

    Creating an Infix
    Authors Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck give a detailed explanation of
    where the infixes are inserted into a word:

    Native speakers of English have intuitions about where in a word the infix is
    inserted. Consider where your favorite expletive infix goes in these words:
    fantastic, education, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, Stillaguamish,
    emancipation, absolutely, hydrangea
    Most speakers agree on these patterns, though there are some dialectal
    variations. You likely found that the infix is inserted at the following points:
    fan-***-tastic, edu-***-cation, Massa-***-chusetts, Phila-***-delphia, Stilla-
    ***-guamish, emanci-***-pation, abso-***-lutely, hy-***-drangea
    The infix gets inserted before the syllable that receives the most stress. And
    it cannot be inserted anywhere else in the word.
    ("Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction." Wadsworth, 2010)

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