feeble-minded

feeble-minded (comparative feebler-minded, superlative feeblest-minded)

1. Weak in intellectual power; lacking firmness or constancy; lacking intelligence

   Synonyms: irresolute, vacillating, imbecile

This term was used loosely in the late 19th and the early 20th century to describe a variety of mental deficiencies, often in a medical context (as were cretin, idiot, imbecile and moron). It was originally not meant to be considered a pejorative term. By the mid-20th century, it was no longer used in medical contexts and became considered a pejorative.

• feeb

• feeble-mindedly
• feeble-mindedness

• “feeble-minded”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.