Infantilism may refer to:

In psychologyParaphilic infantilism, a paraphilia involving the desire to wear diapers and/or fantasies of a return to infancy
Psychosexual infantilism, a concept in psychosexual development introduced by Sigmund Freud
In a more general sense and in colloquial expressions – childlike behavior in adults, particularly lack of judgement and poor ability to make conclusions based on logical reasoning as well as actions driven more by immediate impressions and impulses rather than by rationale. Depending on degree of expression can range from mental disorder, to behavioral disorder or simply psychological makeup and personality trait of otherwise healthy person.In medicineInfantilism (physiological disorder) obsolete use of the term for some developmental disorders and disabilities
Infantilism, also known as infantile speech, a speech disorder in which early speech stages persist beyond the age they are normally expected to fade
Hypothalamic infantilism-obesity, or sexual infantilism, synonyms for adiposogenital dystrophy

See also
Delayed puberty, delayed sexual development symptomatic of several medical syndromes
Diaper fetishism, a paraphilic attraction to wearing diapers which does not involve fantasies of childlike behavior
Paternalism, deliberate limiting of the autonomy of others
Websters definition of "mute", on the other hand, gives the adjectival meaning as "unable to speak", whereas one of its usages as a noun is "a person who cannot speak ... sometimes offensive".In informal American English the terms "mute" and "dumb" are sometimes used to refer to other hearing people in jest, to chide, or to invoke an image of someone who refuses to employ common sense or who is unreliable. In the past deaf-mute was used to describe deaf people who used sign language, but in modern times, the term is frequently viewed today as offensive and inaccurate. From antiquity (as noted in the Code of Hammurabi) until recent times, the terms "deaf-mute" and "deaf and dumb" were sometimes considered analogous to "stupid" by some hearing people. The simple identity of "deaf" has been embraced by the community of signing deaf people since the foundations of public deaf education in the 18th century and remains the preferred term of reference or identity for many years. Within the deaf community there are some who prefer the term "Deaf" (upper-case D) to "deaf" (lower-case) as a description of their status and identity. Jewish law
Classification as a deaf-mute has a particular importance in Jewish law. Because historically it was thought impossible to teach or communicate with them, deaf-mutes were not moral agents, and therefore were unable to own real estate, act as witnesses, or be punished for any crime. However, today when techniques for educating deaf people are known, they are no longer classed as such.