imbecile

C2+ Topic:People & Society
US /ˈɪmbəsəl/ UK /ˈɪmbɪsiːl/
noun adj

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a stupid person; (dated) someone of severely limited intelligence

    Only an imbecile would leave the front door wide open all night.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a stupid person; (dated)... foolidiotmorondoltsimpletonblockheaddunce
Opposites
Word family
Derived forms imbecilicimbecility

Etymology

From Latin imbecillus ('weak, feeble'), originally perhaps 'without a supporting staff', from in- ('without') + baculum ('staff'). It came to mean 'feeble-minded'.

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