imbecile
Use Imbecile in a sentence
bə noun
1.
Informal. a dunce; blockhead; dolt.
2.
Psychology. (no longer in technical use; considered offensive) a person of the second order in a former and discarded classification of mental retardation, above the level of idiocy, having a mental age of seven or eight years and an intelligence quotient of 25 to 50.
adjective
3.
Informal. stupid; silly; absurd.
4.
Usually Offensive. showing mental feebleness or incapacity.
5.
Archaic. weak or feeble.
00:10
Imbecile
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Origin:
1540–50; earlier imbecill < Latin imbēcillus weak; -ile replacing -ill by confusion with suffix -ile
1540–50; earlier imbecill < Latin imbēcillus weak; -ile replacing -ill by confusion with suffix -ile
Related forms
im·be·cil·ic, adjective
im·be·cile·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To imbecile
Collins
World English Dictionary
| imbecile | |
| —n | |
| 1. | psychol a person of very low intelligence (IQ of 25 to 50), usually capable only of guarding himself against danger and of performing simple mechanical tasks under supervision |
| 2. | informal an extremely stupid person; dolt |
| —adj | |
| 3. | of or like an imbecile; mentally deficient; feeble-minded |
| 4. | stupid or senseless: an imbecile thing to do |
| [C16: from Latin imbēcillus feeble (physically or mentally)] | |
| 'imbecilely | |
| —adv | |
| imbe'cilically | |
| —adv | |
| imbe'cility | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
imbecile
1540s, imbecille (adj.) "weak, feeble" (especially in reference to body), from M.Fr. imbecile (15c.), from L. imbecillus "weak, feeble" (see imbecility). Sense shifted to mental weakness from mid-18c. As a noun, it is attested from 1802. Traditionally one with a mental
age of roughly 6 to 9 (ahead of an idiot but beneath a moron).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
imbecile im·be·cile (ĭm'bə-sĭl, -səl)
n.
A person of moderate to severe mental retardation having a mental age of from three to seven years and generally being capable of some degree of communication and performance of simple tasks under supervision. The term belongs to a classification system no longer in use and is now considered offensive.
im'be·cil'i·ty (-sĭl'ĭ·tē) n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
One would have to be the biggest imbecile in the world to have hired him.
If somebody writes a book and doesn't care for the survival of that book, he's an imbecile.
It is not what is in the list that shocks me, for any list drawn by bureaucrats is bound to be an imbecile list.
We build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed and the sick.
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