subnormal
Americanadjective
noun
-
a subnormal person.
-
Geometry. that part of the x-axis of a curve cut off between the ordinate and a normal.
adjective
-
less than the normal
-
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.
The judge said subnormal intelligence is just one consideration in a competency decision.
From Washington Times • Jul. 25, 2018
He said Evans was not "subnormal", nor schizophrenic, nor epileptic.
From BBC • Dec. 17, 2017
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
It was a high, thin, broken moan, and it seemed to come less from an adult than from either a tragic, subnormal infant or a small malformed animal.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
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.
