cretinism

American  

[kreet-n-iz-uhm, kret-] / ˈkrit nˌɪz əm, ˈkrɛt- /

noun

Pathology.

1. (no longer in technical use) a congenital disease due to absence or deficiency of normal thyroid secretion, characterized by physical deformity, dwarfism, and intellectual disability, and often by goiter: This condition is now diagnosed as congenital hypothyroidism or congenital iodine deficiency.

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cretinism British  

/ ˈkrɛtɪˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. old-fashioned a condition arising from a deficiency of thyroid hormone, present from birth, characterized by dwarfism and mental retardation See also myxoedema

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Etymology

Origin of cretinism

First recorded in 1795–1800; from French crétinisme; cretin, -ism

Example Sentences

The late Gore Vidal explained that one of his ambitions as a historian and novelist was to determine “when the great cretinism began in the United States…when people got really dumb.”

From Salon

No doubt it was pretty funny, this new level of cretinism reached by this known moron whose unearned privileges allowed him to fail upwards right into the White House.

From Salon

The “superstructure” has triumphed over the “base”, “parliamentary cretinism” over the “dictatorship of the proletariat”.

From Economist

In 1997, according to Unicef, almost a fifth of its population had goiters — swollen thyroid glands in the neck that indicate serious deficiency, which can also cause dwarfism and cretinism.

From New York Times

Iodized salt has also minimized risks related to pregnancy, such as stillbirth and spontaneous abortion, and cognitive defects in a child’s early developmental years, such as cretinism.

From Newsweek

Related Words

• insanity
• lunacy
• madness