idiotism
1 Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of idiotism1
First recorded in 1585–95; idiot + -ism
Origin of idiotism2
1580–90; < Latin idiōtismus < Greek idiōtismós a vulgar phrase, peculiar way of speaking
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.
We have become so used to the thought that any higher literacy is in retreat before the forces of electronic media and consumer idiotism, that perhaps to imagine the opposite has become impossible.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 25, 2011
That which would be considered as an evidence of idiotism or insanity in the last instance, is defended and practised in the former.
From The Maternal Management of Children, in Health and Disease by Thomas Bull
He did not perceive, that the regal power, in a few generations, introduces idiotism into the noble stem, and holds out baits to render thousands idle and vicious.
From Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
But even his idiotism could not save him, and the affair ended in his being sentenced to three months' imprisonment, and £100 fine.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 364, February 1846 by Various
Swift's letters paint with terrifying colours a picture of solitude; and at length his despair closed with idiotism.
From Literary Character of Men of Genius Drawn from Their Own Feelings and Confessions by Isaac Disraeli
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.
