idiotic

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌɪdiˈɑtɪk/ UK /ˌɪdiˈɒtɪk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
extremely foolish or stupid

It was an idiotic idea to go sailing in that storm.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · extremely foolish or stupid foolish stupid absurd senselessmoronicinane asinine

Opposites

sensible wise intelligent rational

Word family

Derived forms idiotically

Related forms idiot idiocy

Etymology

From Late Latin idioticus, from Ancient Greek idiotikos ('of a private person, unskilled'), from idiotes ('layman, ignorant person'), from idios ('one's own').

idiotes Ancient Greek idios Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# idiotic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪdiˈɑtɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪdiˈɒtɪk/

## Meanings
1. extremely foolish or stupid

## Examples
- It was an idiotic idea to go sailing in that storm.

## Synonyms
- foolish
- stupid
- absurd
- senseless
- moronic
- inane
- asinine

## Antonyms
- sensible
- wise
- intelligent
- rational

## Derived Forms
- idiotically

## Related Forms
- idiot
- idiocy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: idiotes
- Root: idios

## Etymology
From Late Latin idioticus, from Ancient Greek idiotikos ('of a private person, unskilled'), from idiotes ('layman, ignorant person'), from idios ('one's own').

## AI Etymology
idiotic comes from Late Latin idioticus, from Ancient Greek idiotikos ('of a private person, unskilled'), from idiotes ('layman, ignorant person'), from idios ('one's own'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: the word passes through the named languages and forms, with each stage preserving part of the modern shape. In present English, the adjective sense is "extremely foolish or stupid", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as idiot and idiocy, and in derivatives such as idiotically. Its semantic neighborhood includes foolish, stupid, absurd, and senseless, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Ancient Greek idiotes and Ancient Greek idios.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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