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Halfwit vs Imbecile - What's the difference?

halfwit | imbecile | Related terms |

As nouns the difference between halfwit and imbecile

is that halfwit is someone lacking in intelligence while imbecile is a person with limited mental capacity who can perform tasks and think only like a young child, in medical circles meaning a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal five to seven-year-old child.

As an adjective imbecile is

destitute of strength, whether of body or mind; feeble; impotent; especially, mentally weak.

halfwit

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (informal) Someone lacking in intelligence

    • Synonyms

    * See

    imbecile

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A person with limited (l) (l) who can perform (l) and think only like a young child, in medical circles meaning a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal five to seven-year-old child.
  • (pejorative) A .

    • Usage notes

    * In modern times, “imbecile” is often used in (l) (l).

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * imbecilic (adjective) * imbecility (noun)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (dated) Destitute of strength, whether of body or mind; feeble; impotent; especially, mentally weak.
    • hospitals for the imbecile and insane