Dictionary

imbecile en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪmbəsɪl/ (General-American)
• /ˈɪmbəsəl/ (General-American)
• (US) audio
• /ɪmbəˈsiːl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɪmˈbɛsɪl/ (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French imbécile, from Latin imbēcillus (“weak, feeble”), literally “without a staff”.

Meanings

1. (dated) Destitute of strength, whether of body or mind; feeble; impotent; especially, mentally weak.
   • hospitals for the imbecile and insane
   • And then that imbecile crowd down on the deck started their little fun, and I could see nothing more for smoke. 1899 April, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MII, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part III (Conclusion), page 647:

Forms

imbecile en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪmbəsɪl/ (General-American)
• /ˈɪmbəsəl/ (General-American)
• (US) audio
• /ɪmbəˈsiːl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɪmˈbɛsɪl/ (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French imbécile, from Latin imbēcillus (“weak, feeble”), literally “without a staff”.

Meanings

1. (obsolete) A person with limited mental capacity who can perform tasks and think only like a young child, in medical circles meaning a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal five- to seven-year-old child.
   • It is an offence for a man to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman whom he knows to be an idiot or imbecile. 1956, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part I, section 7”, in Sexual Offences Act 1956, page 2:
2. (derogatory) A fool, an idiot.
   • “A rat picked up a drink can and threw it at me?” yelled Mr Big. “A big rat, guv’nor? One of them super-rats?” suggested Thumbs. “It landed on my head, you imbecile!” 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
   • VLADIMIR: Because he wouldn't save them. / ESTRAGON: From hell? / VLADIMIR: Imbecile! From death. 1954, Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot, →ISBN, page 5:

Forms

Deriveds

imbecilic · imbecility · imbecilely · imbecilification · imbecilism

Translations (64)

sw bozi (fool) · de Schwachsinniger (person with limited mental capacity) · nb imbesil (fool) · id tolol (fool) · es imbécil (fool) · lb Dräibiz (fool) · lv imbecils (fool) · lv stulbs (fool) · nb imbesil (person with limited mental capacity) · it tarato (person with limited mental capacity) · es imbécil (person with limited mental capacity) · fr imbécile (fool) · km មនុស្សល្ងីល្ងើ (person with limited mental capacity) · grc βλάξ (person with limited mental capacity) · ja ばか (fool) · tr budala (fool) · ru имбеци́л (person with limited mental capacity) · tr embesil (person with limited mental capacity) · fi imbesilli (fool) · fr imbécile (person with limited mental capacity) · ca imbècil (person with limited mental capacity) · ru слабоу́мный (person with limited mental capacity) · da dumrian (fool) · el ηλίθιος (fool) · pl imbecyl (fool) · ru дура́к (fool) · nl imbeciel (fool) · lv muļķe (fool) · tr embesil (fool) · lv muļķis (fool) · pt imbecil (person with limited mental capacity) · tr budala (person with limited mental capacity) · da imbecil (fool) · fi imbesilli (person with limited mental capacity) · da fjols (fool) · nl imbeciel (person with limited mental capacity) · de geistig Zurückgebliebener (person with limited mental capacity) · el βλάκας (fool) · de Idiot (fool) · da fæ (fool) · da idiot (fool) · pl głupiec (fool) · km អាភ្លើ (fool) · ro imbecil (person with limited mental capacity) · tr aptal (fool) · tl tulala (person with limited mental capacity) · pl imbecyl (person with limited mental capacity) · ota طوی (fool) · lv imbecils (person with limited mental capacity) · id bego (fool) · de Dummkopf (fool) · tr ahmak (fool) · fo býttlingur (fool) · ru ду́ра (fool) · de geistig Behinderter (person with limited mental capacity) · ca imbècil (fool) · tl tulala (fool) · id bodoh (fool) · el ανόητος (fool) · da tåbe (fool) · vi người khờ dại (person with limited mental capacity) · da kraftidiot (fool) · el ηλίθιος (person with limited mental capacity) · pt imbecil (fool)

wikidata: Q193607