imbecile
noun/ˈɪmbəsiːl/
/ˈɪmbəsl/
- a rude way to refer to somebody who you think is very stupid synonym idiot
- They behaved like imbeciles.
- (old-fashioned, offensive) a word for a person with a very low level of intelligence that is now considered offensive
Word Originmid 16th cent. (as an adjective in the sense ‘physically weak’): via French from Latin imbecillus, literally ‘without a supporting staff’, from in- (expressing negation) + baculum ‘stick, staff’. The current sense dates from the early 19th cent.
Check pronunciation:
imbecile