Standard Lemma guide

cretinism

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A condition of severely stunted physical and mental growth due to the untreated congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

severe hypothyroidism resulting in physical and mental stunting

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hypothyroidism

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English cretin Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English cretinism From cretin + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: cretinisme — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Chinese Mandarin: 先天性碘缺乏症候群 (xiāntiānxìng diǎn quēfá zhènghòuqún) — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Czech: kretenismus — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Finnish: kretinismi — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • French: crétinisme — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • German: Kretinismus — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Greek: κρετινισμός (kretinismós) — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Italian: cretinismo — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Polish: kretynizm — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Portuguese: cretinismo — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Romanian: cretinism — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Russian: кретини́зм (kretinízm) — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Spanish: cretinismo — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth
  • Turkish: kretinizm — disease of severely stunted physical and mental growth