| Library / English Dictionary |
IMBECILE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A person of subnormal intelligence
Synonyms:
changeling; cretin; half-wit; idiot; imbecile; moron; retard
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("imbecile" is a kind of...):
simple; simpleton (a person lacking intelligence or common sense)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "imbecile"):
mongoloid (a person suffering from Down syndrome (no longer used technically in this sense, now considered offensive))
Derivation:
imbecilic (having a mental age of three to seven years)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having a mental age of three to seven years
Synonyms:
idiotic; imbecile; imbecilic
Classified under:
Similar:
retarded (relatively slow in mental or emotional or physical development)
Derivation:
imbecility (retardation more severe than a moron but not as severe as an idiot)
Context examples:
He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Oh, you know, deuce take it, said this gentleman, looking round the board with an imbecile smile, we can't forego Blood, you know.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
I have no hesitation in saying, said Mr. Chillip, fortifying himself with another sip of negus, between you and me, sir, that her mother died of it—or that tyranny, gloom, and worry have made Mrs. Murdstone nearly imbecile.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Who is this bent lady, supporting herself by a stick, and showing me a countenance in which there are some traces of old pride and beauty, feebly contending with a querulous, imbecile, fretful wandering of the mind?
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
