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)