Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having a significantly lower than average intellectual capacity and impaired adaptive behavior: This term describes a person whose cognitive functioning and ability to learn everyday social and practical skills are substantially limited compared to typical development. This condition is present from childhood.

Usage

• The term "mentally retarded" is now considered outdated, offensive, and stigmatizing in most professional, educational, and social contexts.
• It is strongly recommended to use person-first language that emphasizes the individual, not the disability. Preferred contemporary terms include "a person with an intellectual disability" or "a person with cognitive impairments."
• The abbreviated form "the retarded" as a collective noun is particularly offensive and must be avoided.

Examples

• Adjective (Historical/Offensive Usage):
  • The old medical textbook used the term mentally retarded to describe a range of cognitive conditions.
  • Important Note: It is inappropriate to construct new example sentences using this term to describe a person. Its inclusion here is solely for educational recognition.

Advanced Usage / Important Note on Language Evolution

• The term "mentally retarded" was once a standard clinical and legal term but has undergone pejoration, meaning it has acquired negative connotations over time.
• Its use today can be considered harmful as it labels and defines a person solely by their disability. Modern practice focuses on functional descriptions (e.g., "needs support with abstract reasoning") or the accepted diagnostic term "intellectual disability."
• In historical or legal document analysis, one might encounter this term, but it should be contextualized with an understanding of its current inappropriate status.

Variants and Related Words

• Retarded (adj.): The shortened, even more offensive adjectival form.
• Intellectual disability (n.): The current, accepted diagnostic and descriptive term.
• Cognitive disability (n.): A broader term sometimes used synonymously with intellectual disability.
• Developmental disability (n.): A broader category that can include intellectual disabilities.

Synonyms (Contextual Equivalents)

• Person with an intellectual disability: The preferred modern phrasing.
• Cognitive impairment: A more clinical term focusing on the functional aspect.

Related Phrases (Historical/Offensive)

• The retarded (n.): An offensive collective noun referring to people with intellectual disabilities. This phrase should never be used. The appropriate phrase is "people with intellectual disabilities."

Noun

1. people collectively who are mentally retarded
   • he started a school for the retarded