adj
Meaning 1
Idiotic, stupid.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncommon
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
idiot
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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK, US: ĭdĭət
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UK, US: /ˈɪdiət/
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/ˈɪd͡ʒət/ yod-coalescence, nonstandard
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: IH1 D IY2 AH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A person of low general intelligence.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory
Examples
- Only an idiot would fail this exam.
- After failing a hat-trick of exams, the teacher called him an idiot.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: imbecile, moron, retard, alcatote, asshat, arsehole, asshole, bayard, berk, birdbrain, blither, bobchin, bonehead, bozo, buffoon, brickhead, Charlie, chucklehead, chowderhead, chump, clart, clown, der-brain, dill pickle, dim bulb, dimwit, dingleberry, dipshit, dipstick, dirtbrain, div, divvo, divvy, dolt, donk, doodle, doofus, dope, dork, dote, dotterel, dullard, dumbass, dumbbell, dumbo, dumb fuck, dummy, dunce, dunderhead, dupe, fathead, fenderhead, fiddle, fuckwit, fuzznut, geck, gig, gink, goober, gooseberry, gowk, gubbins, gump, half-baked, ha'p'orth, Homer Simpson, ignoramus, jamoke, jerk, jerkoff, jolterhead, jolthead, juggins, jughead, knucklehead, lamebrain, mameluke (US (Italian-American), slang), maroon, meathead, mong, mug, muggins, mushhead, nimrod, nincompoop, nit, nitwit, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, numskull, numps, numpty, nupson, oaf, pillock, pinhead, plonker, prat, shit for brains, shithead, shitwit, schmo, schmuck, smooth brain, snapperhead, softhead, sohai, sot, stupid, sucker, thickhead, tonto, tool, tosser, tosspot, tubelight, twat, twerp, twit, wally, wantwit, wazzock, yampy
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory
Examples
- He thought people who don't like cricket are idiots. He later got into fights with people who like football.
- We think that people who cycle without a helmet are idiots.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
A person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
Topics: human-sciences, medicine, psychology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: imbecile, moron, retard
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A proponent of intelligent design.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
a person of subnormal intelligence
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: imbecile, cretin, moron, changeling, half-wit, retard
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: simpleton, simple
Narrower terms: mongoloid
History
Etymology
From Middle English idiote, ydiote, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”). Doublet of idiota. By surface analysis, idi- + -ot.
Blend of ID (“intelligent design”) + idiot.
Across languages
Translations
304 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Albanian: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Albanian: budalla — person of low general intelligence
- Albanian: gomar — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: أَحْمَق (ʔaḥmaq) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: غَبِيّ (ḡabiyy) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: مُغَفَّل (muḡaffal) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: أَبْلَه (ʔablah) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: عَبِيط (ʕabīṭ) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: عبيط (ʕabīṭ) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: أهبل (ʔahbal) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: غَبي (ḡabi) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: أهْبَل (ʔahbal) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: ْأبْلَه (ʔablah) — person of low general intelligence
- Arabic: سَبَك (sabak) — person of low general intelligence
- Armenian: ապուշ (apuš) — person of low general intelligence
- Armenian: հիմար (himar) — person of low general intelligence
- Armenian: էշ (ēš) — person of low general intelligence
- Azerbaijani: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Azerbaijani: axmaq — person of low general intelligence
- Azerbaijani: əbləh — person of low general intelligence
- Azerbaijani: abdal — person of low general intelligence
- Basque: ergel — person of low general intelligence
- Belarusian: ду́рань (dúranʹ) — person of low general intelligence
- Belarusian: дурні́ца (durníca) — person of low general intelligence
- Belarusian: ідыёт (idyjót) — person of low general intelligence
- Belarusian: ідыётка (idyjótka) — person of low general intelligence
- Bengali: মূর্খ (murkho) — person of low general intelligence
- Bengali: বেক্কল (bekkol) — person of low general intelligence
- Central Bikol: dangag — person of low general intelligence
- Central Bikol: patal — person of low general intelligence
- Bulgarian: идио́т (idiót) — person of low general intelligence
- Bulgarian: идио́тка (idiótka) — person of low general intelligence
- Bulgarian: абда́л (abdál) — person of low general intelligence
- Bulgarian: ахма́к (ahmák) — person of low general intelligence
- Bulgarian: глупа́к (glupák) — person of low general intelligence
- Bulgarian: глупа́чка (glupáčka) — person of low general intelligence
- Burmese: ဗာလ (bala.) — person of low general intelligence
- Catalan: idiota — person of low general intelligence
- Chichewa: chitsiru — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Cantonese: 死蠢 (sei2 ceon2) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Cantonese: 白痴 (baak6 ci1) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Cantonese: 戇鳩 /戆鸠 (ngong6 gau1) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Mandarin: 白痴 (báichī) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Mandarin: 傻子 (shǎzi) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Mandarin: 蠢貨 /蠢货 (chǔnhuò) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Mandarin: 傻瓜 (shǎguā) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Mandarin: 笨蛋 (bèndàn) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Mandarin: 蠢材 (chǔncái) — person of low general intelligence
- Chinese Mandarin: 呆子 (dāizi) — person of low general intelligence
- Ngazidja Comorian: ɗaɓa — person of low general intelligence
- Czech: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Czech: idiotka — person of low general intelligence
- Danish: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Danish: nar — person of low general intelligence
- Danish: fjols — person of low general intelligence
- Dutch: idioot — person of low general intelligence
- Dutch: domkop — person of low general intelligence
- Dutch: nar — person of low general intelligence
- Dutch: domme gans — person of low general intelligence
- Esperanto: idioto — person of low general intelligence
- Esperanto: stultulo — person of low general intelligence
- Estonian: idioot — person of low general intelligence
- Estonian: lollpea — person of low general intelligence
- Estonian: oinas — person of low general intelligence
- Finnish: idiootti — person of low general intelligence
- Finnish: hölmö — person of low general intelligence
- Finnish: pöljä — person of low general intelligence
- Finnish: törttö — person of low general intelligence
- Finnish: typerys — person of low general intelligence
- Finnish: urpo — person of low general intelligence
- French: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- French: idiote — person of low general intelligence
- French: imbécile — person of low general intelligence
- French: bouffon — person of low general intelligence
- French: bouffonne — person of low general intelligence
- French: crétin — person of low general intelligence
- French: crétine — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: babeco — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: parvo — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: mascato — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: babiolo — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: doudo — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: pallouco — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: lores — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: paspán — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: alpabarda — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: mouco — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: marmeco — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: láparo — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: inteño — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: miñoto — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: bouto — person of low general intelligence
- Galician: idiota — person of low general intelligence
- Georgian: იდიოტი (idioṭi) — person of low general intelligence
- Georgian: ახმახი (axmaxi) — person of low general intelligence
- German: Idiot — person of low general intelligence
- German: Idiotin — person of low general intelligence
- German: Narr — person of low general intelligence
- German: Närrin — person of low general intelligence
- German: Dummkopf — person of low general intelligence
- German: dumme Gans — person of low general intelligence
- German: dumme Kuh — person of low general intelligence
- Greek: βλάκας (vlákas) — person of low general intelligence
- Greek: ηλίθιος (ilíthios) — person of low general intelligence
- Ancient Greek: βλάξ (bláx) — person of low general intelligence
- Gujarati: ડોબું (ḍobũ) — person of low general intelligence
- Gujarati: મૂર્ખ (mūrkh) — person of low general intelligence
- Gujarati: મૂઢ (mūḍh) — person of low general intelligence
- Hebrew: אִידְיוֹט (idyót) — person of low general intelligence
- Hebrew: גולם \ גֹּלֶם (gólem) — person of low general intelligence
- Hebrew: שׁוֹטֶה (shoté) — person of low general intelligence
- Hindi: मूर्ख (mūrkh) — person of low general intelligence
- Hindi: बुद्धू (buddhū) — person of low general intelligence
- Hindi: उल्लू (ullū) — person of low general intelligence
- Hindi: बेवक़ूफ़ (bevqūf) — person of low general intelligence
- Hindi: अहमक़ (ahmaq) — person of low general intelligence
- Hindi: अहमक (ahmak) — person of low general intelligence
- Hungarian: idióta — person of low general intelligence
- Hungarian: hülye — person of low general intelligence
- Hungarian: félkegyelmű — person of low general intelligence
- Icelandic: hálviti — person of low general intelligence
- Icelandic: asni — person of low general intelligence
- Icelandic: grasasni — person of low general intelligence
- Icelandic: skynskiptingur — person of low general intelligence
- Indonesian: bodoh — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: durakka — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: vohma — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: hapalka — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: oolo — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: tuhkuri — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: tuhkapää — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: tuhkapussi — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: foofana — person of low general intelligence
- Ingrian: bolvana — person of low general intelligence
- Irish: amadán — person of low general intelligence
- Irish: dúramán — person of low general intelligence
- Italian: idiota — person of low general intelligence
- Italian: squasimodeo — person of low general intelligence
- Japanese: 馬鹿 (baka) — person of low general intelligence
- Japanese: あほ (aho) — person of low general intelligence
- Japanese: 白痴 (hakuchi) — person of low general intelligence
- Japanese: 戯け者 — person of low general intelligence
- Kazakh: ақымақ (aqymaq) — person of low general intelligence
- Kazakh: идиот (idiot) — person of low general intelligence
- Khmer: ល្ងីល្ងើ (lngii lngəə) — person of low general intelligence
- Korean: 백치 (baekchi) — person of low general intelligence
- Korean: 바보 (babo) — person of low general intelligence
- Korean: 등신 (deungsin) — person of low general intelligence
- Korean: 멍청이 (meongcheong'i) — person of low general intelligence
- Korean: 천치 (cheonchi) — person of low general intelligence
- Kyrgyz: акмак (akmak) — person of low general intelligence
- Kyrgyz: идиот (idiot) — person of low general intelligence
- Ladin: totl — person of low general intelligence
- Ladin: musciat — person of low general intelligence
- Lao: ຄົນບັດຊົບ (khon bat sop) — person of low general intelligence
- Lao: ຄົນໂງ່ (khon ngō) — person of low general intelligence
- Lao: ໂງ່ (ngō) — person of low general intelligence
- Latin: blennus — person of low general intelligence
- Latin: idiota — person of low general intelligence
- Latin: fungus — person of low general intelligence
- Latvian: idiots — person of low general intelligence
- Latvian: idiote — person of low general intelligence
- Latvian: muļķis — person of low general intelligence
- Latvian: muļķe — person of low general intelligence
- Latvian: duraks — person of low general intelligence
- Lithuanian: idiotas — person of low general intelligence
- Lithuanian: idiotė — person of low general intelligence
- Lithuanian: avigalvis — person of low general intelligence
- Lithuanian: kvailys — person of low general intelligence
- Lithuanian: durnius — person of low general intelligence
- Luhya: omsilu — person of low general intelligence
- Macedonian: абдал (abdal) — person of low general intelligence
- Macedonian: идио́т (idiót) — person of low general intelligence
- Macedonian: идио́тка (idiótka) — person of low general intelligence
- Malay: bodoh — person of low general intelligence
- Malayalam: കണ്ണാപ്പി (kaṇṇāppi) — person of low general intelligence
- Malayalam: പൊട്ടൻ (poṭṭaṉ) — person of low general intelligence
- Manx: thoot — person of low general intelligence
- Māori: hukehuke — person of low general intelligence
- Māori: heahea — person of low general intelligence
- Māori: rorirori — person of low general intelligence
- Māori: pōhauhau — person of low general intelligence
- Māori: hākawa — person of low general intelligence
- Marshallese: bōkāro — person of low general intelligence
- Middle English: sot — person of low general intelligence
- Mongolian: эргүү тэнэг (ergüü teneg) — person of low general intelligence
- Mongolian: зүүлэг (züüleg) — person of low general intelligence
- Mongolian: тэнэг (teneg) — person of low general intelligence
- Norman: peûle — person of low general intelligence
- Norwegian Bokmål: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Norwegian Bokmål: narr — person of low general intelligence
- Norwegian Nynorsk: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Old English: unwita — person of low general intelligence
- Iranian Persian: اَحْمَق (ahmaġ) — person of low general intelligence
- Iranian Persian: کُوْدَن (kowdan) — person of low general intelligence
- Iranian Persian: خِنْگ (xeng) — person of low general intelligence
- Iranian Persian: اَبْلَهْ (ablah) — person of low general intelligence
- Iranian Persian: کانا (kânâ) — person of low general intelligence
- Iranian Persian: خِرِفْت (xereft) — person of low general intelligence
- Plautdietsch: Eefelt — person of low general intelligence
- Plautdietsch: Dommajon — person of low general intelligence
- Polish: idiota — person of low general intelligence
- Polish: idiotka — person of low general intelligence
- Polish: głupek — person of low general intelligence
- Polish: głupiec — person of low general intelligence
- Polish: dureń — person of low general intelligence
- Portuguese: idiota — person of low general intelligence
- Punjabi: ਮੂਰਖ (mūrakh) — person of low general intelligence
- Punjabi: ਬੇਵਕੂਫ਼ (bevkūf) — person of low general intelligence
- Romanian: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Romanian: idioată — person of low general intelligence
- Romanian: idioți — person of low general intelligence
- Romanian: idioate — person of low general intelligence
- Russian: идио́т (idiót) — person of low general intelligence
- Russian: идио́тка (idiótka) — person of low general intelligence
- Russian: дура́к (durák) — person of low general intelligence
- Russian: ду́ра (dúra) — person of low general intelligence
- Russian: ду́рень (dúrenʹ) — person of low general intelligence
- Russian: глупе́ц (glupéc) — person of low general intelligence
- Sanskrit: मूढ (mūḍha) — person of low general intelligence
- Sanskrit: निर्बुद्धि (nirbuddhi) — person of low general intelligence
- Sanskrit: मूर्ख (mūrkha) — person of low general intelligence
- Sanskrit: जल (jala) — person of low general intelligence
- Scots: stookie — person of low general intelligence
- Scottish Gaelic: amadan — person of low general intelligence
- Scottish Gaelic: òinseach — person of low general intelligence
- Scottish Gaelic: burraidh — person of low general intelligence
- Serbo-Croatian: идѝот — person of low general intelligence
- Serbo-Croatian: идѝоткиња — person of low general intelligence
- Serbo-Croatian: idìot — person of low general intelligence
- Serbo-Croatian: idìotkinja — person of low general intelligence
- Sikkimese: གླན་པོ (glan po) — person of low general intelligence
- Slovak: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Slovak: idiotka — person of low general intelligence
- Slovene: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Slovene: tepec — person of low general intelligence
- Spanish: idiota — person of low general intelligence
- Swahili: mjinga — person of low general intelligence
- Swahili: kichwamaji — person of low general intelligence
- Swedish: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Swedish: narr — person of low general intelligence
- Tagalog: bobo — person of low general intelligence
- Tagalog: tanga — person of low general intelligence
- Tagalog: ungas — person of low general intelligence
- Tajik: аблаҳ (ablah) — person of low general intelligence
- Tajik: аҳмақ (ahmaq) — person of low general intelligence
- Tamil: முட்டாள் (muṭṭāḷ) — person of low general intelligence
- Tamil: அறிவிலி (aṟivili) — person of low general intelligence
- Tamil: லூசு (lūcu) — person of low general intelligence
- Tatar: ахмак (axmaq) — person of low general intelligence
- Telugu: వెధవ (vedhava) — person of low general intelligence
- Thai: คนโง่ (kon-ngôo) — person of low general intelligence
- Thai: ไอ้งั่ง — person of low general intelligence
- Thai: คนโง่เง่า — person of low general intelligence
- Thai: คนบ้า — person of low general intelligence
- Thai: คนปัญญาอ่อน — person of low general intelligence
- Thai: โง่ (ngôo) — person of low general intelligence
- Thai: ควาย (kwaai) — person of low general intelligence
- Turkish: salak — person of low general intelligence
- Turkish: ahmak — person of low general intelligence
- Turkish: aptal — person of low general intelligence
- Turkish: geri zekâlı — person of low general intelligence
- Turkish: bön — person of low general intelligence
- Turkish: avanak — person of low general intelligence
- Turkish: andaval — person of low general intelligence
- Ottoman Turkish: طوی (toy) — person of low general intelligence
- Turkmen: akmak — person of low general intelligence
- Ukrainian: ідіо́т (idiót) — person of low general intelligence
- Ukrainian: ідіо́тка (idiótka) — person of low general intelligence
- Ukrainian: ду́рень (dúrenʹ) — person of low general intelligence
- Ukrainian: дуре́па (durépa) — person of low general intelligence
- Ukrainian: ду́рка (dúrka) — person of low general intelligence
- Ukrainian: йо́лоп (jólop) — person of low general intelligence
- Urdu: مُورْکھ (mūrkh) — person of low general intelligence
- Urdu: بیوَقُوف (bevaqūf) — person of low general intelligence
- Urdu: بے وُقُوف (be vuqūf) — person of low general intelligence
- Urdu: اُلُّو (ullū) — person of low general intelligence
- Urdu: بُدُّھو (buddhū) — person of low general intelligence
- Urdu: اَحْمَق (ahmaq) — person of low general intelligence
- Urdu: گاؤدی (gāodī) — person of low general intelligence
- Uyghur: ئەخمەق (exmeq) — person of low general intelligence
- Uzbek: idiot — person of low general intelligence
- Uzbek: ahmoq — person of low general intelligence
- Uzbek: ablah — person of low general intelligence
- Vietnamese: thằng ngốc — person of low general intelligence
- Vietnamese: thằng ngu — person of low general intelligence
- Volapük: diotan — person of low general intelligence
- Volapük: hidiotan — person of low general intelligence
- Volapük: jidiotan — person of low general intelligence
- Welsh: twpsyn — person of low general intelligence
- Welsh: ynfytyn — person of low general intelligence
- West Frisian: idioat — person of low general intelligence
- Yiddish: אידיאָט (idyot) — person of low general intelligence
- Yiddish: נאַר (nar) — person of low general intelligence
- Yiddish: שוטה (shoyte) — person of low general intelligence
- Zhuang: vunzbamz — person of low general intelligence
- Bulgarian: идио́т (idiót) — person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old
- Dutch: idioot — person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old
- Greek: ιδιώτης (idiótis) — person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old
- Greek: μικρόνους (mikrónous) — person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old
- Hindi: बालबुद्धि (bālbuddhi) — person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old
- Latvian: idiots — person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old
- Latvian: idiote — person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old
- Iranian Persian: کالیو (kâliv) — person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old