retardation
[ree-tahr-dey-shuh n]
- the act of retarding or state of being retarded.
- something that retards; hindrance.
- Usually Offensive. slowness or limitation in intellectual understanding and awareness, emotional development, academic progress, etc.See also mental retardation.
- Music. a form of suspension that is resolved upward.
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Also re·tard·ment [ri-tahrd-muh nt] /rɪˈtɑrd mənt/.
Origin of retardation
Usage note
See retarded.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
retardation
less commonly retardment (rɪˈtɑːdmənt)
- the act of retarding or the state of being retarded
- something that retards; hindrance
- the rate of deceleration
- psychiatry the slowing down of mental functioning and bodily movement
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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
Word Origin and History for retardation
n.
early 15c., "fact or action of making slower in movement or time," from Latin retardationem (nominative retardatio) "a delaying," noun of action from past participle stem of retardare "to make slow, delay, keep back, hinder," from re- (see re-), + tardare "to slow" (see tardy). Sense of "educational slowness" is from 1907.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
retardation
(rē′tär-dā′shən)- The condition of being relatively slow in mental, emotional, or physical development.
- The extent to which something is held back or delayed.
- Mental retardation.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.