subnormal
Americanadjective
noun
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a subnormal person.
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Geometry. that part of the x-axis of a curve cut off between the ordinate and a normal.
adjective
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less than the normal
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having a low intelligence, esp having an IQ of less than 70
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of subnormal
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.
Following years of pressure and campaigning, the 1981 Education Act enshrined inclusivity in law and the term "educationally subnormal" was abolished as a defining category.
From BBC ● May 19, 2021
The judge said subnormal intelligence is just one consideration in a competency decision.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 25, 2018
Many trials of vitamins and minerals are performed on the population at large instead of on a subpopulation with subnormal levels of those substances.
From Forbes ● Aug. 27, 2014
Then, Keynes said a depression was a "chronic condition of subnormal activity for a considerable period without any marked tendency towards recovery or towards complete collapse".
From The Guardian ● Feb. 24, 2013
The thermometer registered a half degree lower than his usual subnormal temperature of 96.8.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
