handicapped
Americanadjective
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Sometimes Offensive. physically or mentally disabled.
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of or designed for handicapped people.
handicapped parking.
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Sports. (of a competitor) marked by, being under, or having a handicap.
a handicapped player.
noun
adjective
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physically disabled
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psychol denoting a person whose social behaviour or emotional reactions are in some way impaired
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(of a competitor) assigned a handicap
Sensitive Note
See cripple.
Usage
Nowadays the use of the word handicapped to describe people with disabilities is generally considered inappropriate. It is preferable to refer to someone as having a disability and to talk about people with disabilities
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of handicapped
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 1980, she became the first director of the newly created National Institute of Handicapped Research, appointed by President Jimmy Carter.
From Washington Post • Dec. 17, 2021
This was followed by the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which required public schools to educate children with disabilities.
From Textbooks • Jul. 28, 2021
With an up-close look at the inequities and indignities that disabled people had to plow through, she became an advocate for disabled people and for years served on the California Assn. of the Physically Handicapped.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2019
Washington’s law became a model for the federal Education for All Handicapped Children Act passed in 1975.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 30, 2018
Dad pulls into a Handicapped Spot right by the cafeteria door and I tell him, You can’t park here, but he turns off the engine and opens his door and says, This counts.
From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
