neoteny.

The retention of juvenile features into adulthood, often because bodily development is slowed relative to reproductive maturation.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• adult neoteny
• neotenic features

On the page

Neoteny preserved the animal's feathery gills after it reached maturity.

The researcher interpreted the rounded features as evidence of neoteny.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.