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View synonyms for imbecility

imbecility

[ im-buh-sil-i-tee ]

noun

, plural im·be·cil·i·ties.
  1. an instance or point of weakness; feebleness; incapability.
  2. stupidity; silliness; absurdity.
  3. an instance of stupidity, silliness, or absurdity.
  4. Psychology. (no longer in technical use; considered offensive) an intellectual disability, previously classified in a now obsolete rubric of developmental disorders as having a mental age of seven or eight years and an intelligence quotient of 25 to 50.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of imbecility1

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English inbecillite, from Middle French imbecil(l)ite and Latin imbēcillitāt-, stem of imbēcillitās “weakness”; imbecile, -ity

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