imbecility
/,imbi'siliti/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- Profound intellectual disability: A state of severe mental impairment, historically used in medical classification to describe a level of intellectual disability more severe than "moron" but less severe than "idiot."
- Utter stupidity or foolishness: Extreme foolishness or senselessness in thought, action, or speech.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The outdated medical text classified the condition as imbecility. (The outdated medical text classified the condition as a profound intellectual disability.)
- His decision to drive during the hurricane was an act of sheer imbecility. (His decision to drive during the hurricane was an act of sheer foolishness.)
Advanced Usage
- Legal/Historical Context: The term was once used in legal and medical contexts but is now considered offensive and obsolete. Modern terminology uses specific levels of "intellectual disability" or "developmental disability."
- The law's archaic language referred to "imbecility," a term no longer used in psychology. (The law's archaic language referred to a severe intellectual disability, a term no longer used in psychology.)
Variants and Related Words
- Imbecile (noun/adj): A person affected by severe intellectual disability (offensive); or, behaving with or showing great stupidity.
- It is offensive to call someone an imbecile. (It is offensive to call someone a person with a profound intellectual disability/a very foolish person.)
Synonyms
- Foolishness: Lack of good sense or judgment.
- Stupidity: Behavior that shows a lack of good sense or intelligence.
- Idiocy (also offensive in medical contexts): Extreme stupidity.
Related Idioms/Phrases
- Sheer imbecility: Used to emphasize an action or idea as completely foolish.
- The plan's failure was a result of sheer imbecility. (The plan's failure was a result of complete foolishness.)
Noun
- a stupid mistake
- retardation more severe than a moron but not as severe as an idiot