imbecility

C2 Topic:Mind & Cognition

Also spelled imbecillity

US /ˌɪmbəˈsɪləti/
noun Freq #93418

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    The quality of being imbecile; weakness; feebleness, especially of mind.

    The police prosecutor hammered at him and the bench had a go at him, and they commanded from him such a madhouse particularity between the distinctions of looking and seeing that Bradly was reduced to imbecility, and so contradictious were his mutterings that he was openly suspected of trying to shield that wretched tramp, whom Bradly would have gladly seen sunk in the bottomless pit reserved for snoopers.

  2. 2
    noun

    Something imbecilic; a stupid action, behaviour, etc.

    The Parnassian theory of art is mere imbecility.

  3. 3
    noun

    a stupid mistake

  4. 4
    noun

    retardation more severe than a moron but not as severe as an idiot

Thesaurus

Synonyms
3 noun · a stupid mistake folly
Word family
Derived forms imbecilitate

Etymology

From Middle English inbecillite, from Middle French imbecilité, imbecillité, and its etymon Classical Latin imbēcillitās. By surface analysis, imbecile + -ity.

Topics

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