subnormal

American  

[suhb-nawr-muhl] / sʌbˈnɔr məl /

adjective

1. below the normal; less than or inferior to the normal.

   a subnormal amount of rain.

2. being less than average in any psychological trait, as intelligence, personality, or emotional adjustment.

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noun

1. a subnormal person.

2. Geometry. that part of the x-axis of a curve cut off between the ordinate and a normal.

subnormal British  

/ ˌsʌbnɔːˈmælɪtɪ, sʌbˈnɔːməl /

adjective

1. less than the normal

2. having a low intelligence, esp having an IQ of less than 70

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noun

1. a subnormal person

Other Word Forms

• subnormality noun
• subnormally adverb

Etymology

Origin of subnormal

First recorded in 1700–10; sub- + normal

Example Sentences

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

“China should accept the new normal of slower trend growth. But in doing so, it should not fall prey to a new subnormal of below-trend growth.”

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2015

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

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

Related Words

• feeble
• inferior
• insufficient
• meager
• mediocre
• miserable
• modest
• ordinary
• shoddy
• substandard
• unsatisfactory
• weak