Phrase guide

idiot savant

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

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.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who exhibits an extraordinary ability in one subject (often mathematics) while being intellectually disabled in many other domains.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, possibly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

person who is mentally retarded in general but who displays remarkable aptitude in some limited field (usually involving memory)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: simpleton, simple

History

Etymology

From French idiot savant, literally ‘wise idiot’.