infotainment
noun
Did you know?
Infotainment, a blend of "information" and "entertainment," first appeared in the early 1980s. Not everyone approves of "infotainment" and similar pieced-together, media-derived words (e.g., "infomercial" and "edutainment"), however. New York Times Magazine writer Joe Morgenstern referred to "infotainment" as "a plastic word, stuck together with show-biz epoxy." An editorialist for a New England newspaper called it "a nauseating word" that "has crept into the language without an invitation." Unfortunately for such detractors, the word continues to be used today. Not only that, but a new, distinct sense of the word is emerging. People in the automotive industry have recently begun using "infotainment" to refer to the state-of-the-art multimedia technologies (such as GPS systems and Internet radio) now available to drivers at the push of a button.
Examples of infotainment in a Sentence
Charles Singh, USA Today, 18 May 2026
Its clean-sheet approach to an electric vehicle’s electronic architecture earned it a $5 billion investment from Volkswagen Group, and its in-house infotainment system is beloved by owners despite no plans inside the company to support phone mirroring through Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
There have also been infotainment system updates for Subaru vehicles, and checking for available updates may resolve the problem.
—Hartford Courant, 12 May 2026
The infotainment system is straightforward, with a touchscreen that responds quickly and doesn’t require a PhD to operate.
—New Atlas, 3 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for infotainment
Cite this Entry
“Infotainment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infotainment. Accessed 29 May. 2026.
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