idiocy
English
Alternative forms
- idiotcy (archaic)
Etymology
From French idiotie, from Old French idiot. Displaced earlier idiotacy, idiotry. Equivalent to idiot + -cy.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɪdi.əsi/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Noun
idiocy (countable and uncountable, plural idiocies)
- (dated, psychology, now derogatory) The state or condition of being an idiot; the quality of having an intelligence level far below average; mental retardation; intellectual disability.
- (uncountable) Lack of intelligence or sense; extremely foolish behaviour.
- Synonyms: imbecility, stupidity
- The administrators, growing tired of such idiocy, put a new policy in place.
- (countable) An idiotic act or utterance.
- The list of his idiocies is seemingly interminable.
Synonyms
- idiocity (nonstandard)
- idiotacy (nonstandard)
- idiotcy (dated)
- idiotery (nonstandard, rare)
- idioticalness (rare)
- idioticity (nonstandard)
- idioticness (rare)
- idioticy (nonstandard)
- idiotness (rare)
- idiotry (obsolete)
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
state of being an idiot
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References
- “idiocy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
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