Dictionary

idiocy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• [ˈɪɾiəsi] (US)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈɪdiəsi/

Etymology

From French idiotie, from Old French idiot. Displaced earlier idiotacy, idiotry. Equivalent to idiot + -cy. By surface analysis, idio- + -cy.

Meanings

1. (countable, dated, derogatory, uncountable) The state or condition of being an idiot; the quality of having an intelligence level far below average.
2. (uncountable) Lack of intelligence or sense; extremely foolish behaviour.
   • The administrators, growing tired of such idiocy, put a new policy in place.
3. (countable) An idiotic act or utterance.
   • “Well, Atticus, I was just sayin‘ to Mr. Cunningham that entailments are bad an’ all that, but you said not to worry, it takes a long time sometimes… that you all’d ride it out together…” I was slowly drying up, wondering what idiocy I had committed. 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
   • The list of his idiocies is seemingly interminable.

Forms

Deriveds

covidiocy · Mongolian idiocy · artificial idiocy

Relateds

idiocracy · idiotic · idiotically · idiot

Synonyms

mental retardation · moronicity · intellectual disability · idioticy · idioticalness · idioticity · idiotism · idioticness · imbecility · idiotness · idiotacy · idioticness · idioticness · idiotry · idiotcy · idiocity · moronicity · imbecility · idiotery

Translations (35)

ca estupidesa (state of being an idiot) · el ιδιωτεία (state of being an idiot) · pl idiotyzm (state of being an idiot) · uk ідіоти́зм (state of being an idiot) · pl idiotyzm (extremely foolish behaviour) · enm sotschipe (extremely foolish behaviour) · tl kaungasan (state of being an idiot) · bg идиотщина (extremely foolish behaviour) · da idioti (state of being an idiot) · pt idiotice (state of being an idiot) · gv ommidys (state of being an idiot) · ru идиоти́зм (state of being an idiot) · fi idiotia (state of being an idiot) · fi idioottimaisuus (state of being an idiot) · vo diot (state of being an idiot) · bg идиотия (state of being an idiot) · oc idiocia (state of being an idiot) · fi tylsämielisyys (state of being an idiot) · gv meecheealaght (state of being an idiot) · ru идио́тство (state of being an idiot) · ny utsiru (state of being an idiot) · eo idioteco (state of being an idiot) · fr idiotie (state of being an idiot) · el ηλιθιότητα (state of being an idiot) · cs idiocie (state of being an idiot) · ca idiòcia (state of being an idiot) · pt estupidez (state of being an idiot) · es idiotez (state of being an idiot) · enm sotie (extremely foolish behaviour) · it stupidità (state of being an idiot) · de Idiotie (state of being an idiot) · gv meecheeallid (state of being an idiot) · uk ідіоти́зм (extremely foolish behaviour) · es estupidez (state of being an idiot) · cmn 白痴 (state of being an idiot)