imbecile

[ im-buh-sil, -suhl or, especially British, -seel ]
See synonyms for: imbecileimbecilic on Thesaurus.com

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

  2. Psychology. (no longer in technical use; now considered offensive) a person of the second order in a former and discarded classification of intellectual disability, above the level of idiocy, having a mental age of seven or eight years and an intelligence quotient of 25 to 50.

adjective
  1. Informal. stupid; silly; absurd.

  2. Usually Offensive. showing mental feebleness or incapacity.

  1. Archaic. weak or feeble.

Origin of imbecile

1
First recorded in 1540–50; earlier imbecill, from Latin imbēcillus “weak”; -ile replacing -ill by confusion with suffix -ile

Other words from imbecile

  • im·be·cil·ic, adjective
  • im·be·cile·ly, adverb

Words Nearby imbecile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use imbecile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for imbecile

imbecile

noun(ˈɪmbɪˌsiːl, -ˌsaɪl)
  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

adjectiveAlso: imbecilic (ˌɪmbɪˈsɪlɪk)
  1. of or like an imbecile; mentally deficient; feeble-minded

  2. stupid or senseless: an imbecile thing to do

Origin of imbecile

1
C16: from Latin imbēcillus feeble (physically or mentally)

Derived forms of imbecile

  • imbecilely or imbecilically, adverb
  • imbecility, noun

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