moron

¹

[ mawr-on ]

noun

1. Informal. a person who is notably stupid or lacking in good judgment:

   I wonder why they elected that narrow-minded moron to Congress.

2. Psychology. (no longer in technical use; now considered offensive) a person of borderline intelligence in a former and discarded classification of intellectual disability, having an intelligence quotient of 50 to 69.

Morón

²

[ maw-rohn; Spanish maw-rawn ]

noun

1. a city in E Argentina, SW of Buenos Aires.

moron

/ mɒˈrɒnɪk; ˈmɔːrɒn /

noun

1. a foolish or stupid person
2. a person having an intelligence quotient of between 50 and 70, able to work under supervision

Derived Forms

• moronic, adjective
• ˈmoronism, noun
• moˈronically, adverb

Other Words From

• mo·ron·ic [m, uh, -, ron, -ik], adjective
• mo·ron·ism mo·ron·i·ty [m, uh, -, ron, -i-tee], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of moron¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1905–10; from Greek mōrón, neuter of mōrós “foolish, dull”

Word History and Origins

Origin of moron¹

C20: from Greek mōros foolish

Example Sentences

Half the people around me are morons, half of them are sex-crazed, and half sold out for status.

From Nautilus

Now I feel like a total moron and can't believe how badly I screwed up.

From Washington Post

The subtext of many smart tech pitches is that you’d be a moron not to buy this.

From Voice of San Diego

A total moron who screws up even with inherited wealth, while blustering through life knowing nothing.

From Washington Blade

Then leaving ashore the sergeant-major, Juan de Moron, in command, he returned to his ship to have it moored and set in order.

From Project Gutenberg

Moron val, who looked on, shrugged his shoulders, with a glance at his wife.

From Project Gutenberg

The numerous streams which cross the stony pathway all flow to the south, uniting their waters with the Salado de Moron.

From Project Gutenberg

Moron and Bagac on the opposite coast each report more than a hundred.

From Project Gutenberg

Moron, who was a native of Vaimo, had a small horse which was pretty well trained.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• boob
• idiot

About This Word

More context on moron

Calling someone a moron is all in good fun, right? Not so much. While moron can sound like a simple schoolyard taunt, the term was originally used by psychologists to classify someone as having mild intellectual disabilities. What’s more, prominent psychologists, notably Henry H. Goddard, who used the label moron promoted eugenics.

Moron is no longer in use as a medical term, and it’s offensive and ableist to equate someone you think is acting foolish to a person with a disability.

If knowing the history of moron has got you reflecting on your word choices, this slideshow, “These Common Words Have Offensive Histories,” discusses many other words whose place in your vocab you may want to reconsider. 

Keep in mind …

Like moron, the words idiot, imbecile, and feeble-minded were also once used in psychology to label people with intellectual disabilities or mental deficiencies.

Now, we’re not condoning any name-calling, but we’re also not naive—we know it happens! But, we can at least alert to the fact there are plenty of alternatives to moron that don’t come with so much painful baggage:

• blockhead
• boob
• buffoon
• ignoramus
• clown
• jester
• nitwit
• stooge

For more synonyms, find fool on Thesaurus.com.