imbecile

[ im-buh-sil, -suh l or, esp. British, -seel ]

/ ˈɪm bə sɪl, -səl or, esp. British, -ˌsil /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR imbecile ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Informal. a dunce; blockhead; dolt: Don't stand there like an imbecile. Open the door!.

Psychology. (no longer in technical use; now 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

Informal. stupid; silly; absurd.

Usually Offensive. showing mental feebleness or incapacity.

Archaic. weak or feeble.

Nearby words

imare, imaret, imari ware, imax, imbalance, imbecile, imbecilic, imbecility, imbed, imbedding, imbibe

Origin of imbecile

1540–50; earlier imbecill < Latin imbēcillus weak; -ile replacing -ill by confusion with suffix -ile

Related forms

im·be·cil·ic, adjectiveim·be·cile·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for imbecile

The town in which the son of Jesse had first appeared, entreating help in the guise of an imbecile, thus fell before him.
History of the Jews, Vol. I (of 6)|Heinrich Graetz
A man may remain an imbecile and live; but as soon as the heart ceases to perform its functions, the animal is dead.
The Social Contract & Discourses|Jean-Jacques Rousseau
He was looked upon as a fool, as an imbecile, as an ignoramus.
In Search of a Son|William Shepard Walsh
The family was descended from a Revolutionary soldier, who had an illegitimate feeble-minded son by an imbecile young woman.
Society|Henry Kalloch Rowe

John, he said, was almost an imbecile, on account of the numerous and hopeless bodily infirmities to which he was subject.
Peter the Great|Jacob Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for imbecile

imbecile

noun (ˈɪmbɪˌsiːl, -ˌsaɪl)

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

informal an extremely stupid person; dolt

adjective Also: imbecilic (ˌɪmbɪˈsɪlɪk)

of or like an imbecile; mentally deficient; feeble-minded

stupid or senselessan imbecile thing to do

Derived Forms

imbecilely or imbecilically, adverbimbecility, noun

Word Origin for imbecile

C16: from Latin imbēcillus feeble (physically or mentally)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for imbecile

imbecile

[ 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.

Related forms

im′be•cil′i•ty (-sĭl′ĭ•tē) n.