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View synonyms for

idiot

[ id-ee-uht ]

noun

  1. Informal. an utterly foolish or senseless person:

    If you think you can wear that outfit to a job interview and get hired, you're an idiot!

    Synonyms: , , , , ,

  2. Psychology. (no longer in technical use; considered offensive) a person of the lowest order in a former and discarded classification of intellectual disability, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25.


idiot

/ ˈɪɪə /

noun

  1. a person with severe mental retardation
  2. a foolish or senseless person
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • ··dz· [id-ee-, ot, -ik], adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of idiot1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin 徱ōٲ, from Greek 徱ṓtŧ “private person, layman, person lacking skill or expertise,” equivalent to 徱ō- (lengthened variant of idio- idio-, perhaps by analogy with ٰپōŧ “professional soldier,” derivative of ٰپá “army”) + agent noun suffix
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Word History and Origins

Origin of idiot1

C13: from Latin 徱ōٲ ignorant person, from Greek 徱ōŧ private person, one who lacks professional knowledge, ignoramus; see idio-
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He swore and called himself an "idiot" over the radio to his team in the immediate aftermath of the accident.

From

He swore over the radio that he was an "idiot", but was unhurt.

From

Boeing’s plight is just one aspect of a White House tariff policy that increasingly resembles, as Shakespeare might have put it, “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

From

In 2005, however, he said he was "fed up with the idiots" adding there was an "ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who greenlight the movies."

From

Their job is to paint every dumb decision made by Donald Trump as the work of a secret genius who is only pretending to be a half-literate idiot.

From

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idiosyncraticidiot board