Did you
know?
moron
noun
- a very stupid person
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
Circa 1910. Moron is borrowed from the Greek moros, meaning foolish or unintelligent and is probably related to murah, a Sanskrit word for idiotic.
Henry H. Goddard, a prominent, early 20th century American psychologist, created the term moron as part of a system for classifying people with mental retardation (Geistesschwache). He applied moron to those with an intelligence quotient between 51 and 70, imbecile for those between 26-50 and idiot for those between 0-25.
Note that these three expressions, in addition to retard and feeble-minded, were once generally accepted scientific terms but are meanwhile offensive slang. Be careful using them, and also following synonyms.
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SYNONYMS
blockhead, bonehead, boob, dimwit, dingbat, dope, dork, dumbbell, dunce, dunderhead, fool, halfwit, ignoramus, lamebrain, muttonhead, nincompoop, nitwit, numbskull, pea brain, simpleton, twit
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ANTONYMS
genius, intellectual, brain, scholar, whiz, savant
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IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
“Be very careful using a word like moron in public, and never write it in an e.mail. You could get into trouble."