imbecility

[ im-buh-sil-i-tee ]

noun

, plural im·be·cil·i·ties.

1. an instance or point of weakness; feebleness; incapability.
2. stupidity; silliness; absurdity.
3. an instance of stupidity, silliness, or absurdity.
4. Psychology. (no longer in technical use; considered offensive) an intellectual disability, previously classified in a now obsolete rubric of developmental disorders as having a mental age of seven or eight years and an intelligence quotient of 25 to 50.

Word History and Origins

Origin of imbecility¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English inbecillite, from Middle French imbecil(l)ite and Latin imbēcillitāt-, stem of imbēcillitās “weakness”; imbecile, -ity

Example Sentences

By constantly interrupting his fellow would-be presidential aspirants with a firehose of cocksure imbecilities, Ramaswamy captured the attention of the political chattering classes.

From Los Angeles Times

Those numbers are disappointing reminders that voters could definitely be smarter, of course, but it's not the slam dunk evidence of American imbecility that Republican politicians seem to think it is.

From Salon

The new show maintains the imbecility of the original, though some episodes, alas, have more developed plots.

From New York Times

Artistic expression and intellectual inquiry are replaced by a new dark age, the triumph of tawdry spectacle and the celebration of crowd-pleasing imbecility.

From Salon

A year after that “triumphant election,” he was deriding the “pro-slavery interference of President LINCOLN” and the administration’s “helpless imbecility.”

From New York Times