imbecility

American  

[im-buh-sil-i-tee] / ˌɪm bəˈsɪl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

imbecilities

1. an instance or point of weakness; feebleness; incapability.

2. stupidity; silliness; absurdity.

3. an instance of stupidity, silliness, or absurdity.

4. Psychology. (no longer in technical use; considered offensive) an intellectual disability, previously classified in a now obsolete rubric of developmental disorders as having a mental age of seven or eight years and an intelligence quotient of 25 to 50.

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Etymology

Origin of imbecility

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English inbecillite, from Middle French imbecil(l)ite and Latin imbēcillitāt-, stem of imbēcillitās “weakness”; imbecile, -ity

Example Sentences

The new show maintains the imbecility of the original, though some episodes, alas, have more developed plots.

From New York Times

Artistic expression and intellectual inquiry are replaced by a new dark age, the triumph of tawdry spectacle and the celebration of crowd-pleasing imbecility.

From Salon

It’s about the soul-draining imbecilities of office life at an organization that resembles the United Nations.

From New York Times

It is not merely Trump's ignorance and imbecility that creates a country unprepared and ill equipped to deal with a health problem, but the entire ideology that underwrites his incompetence.

From Salon

This GOP lawmaker gets the booby prize for moral imbecility.

From Washington Post