cretin

noun cre·tin \ ˈkrē-tᵊn \

Definition of cretin

1 often offensive :one afflicted with cretinism

2 :a stupid, vulgar, or insensitive person :clod, lout

Let me know if these cretins bother you.

—

cretinous

play \ˈkrē-tᵊn-əs\ adjective

See cretin defined for English-language learners

See cretin defined for kids

Examples of cretin in a Sentence

a cretin who's constantly forwarding e-mails filled with racist and sexist jokes
in discussions anyone who disagrees with her is inevitably called a cretin

Recent Examples of cretin from the Web

These cretins in Charlottesville are coming together to mourn the lost days of other human beings held in human bondage and a general who fought for just that. 2.

— angela helm, The Root, "White Supremacists Pop Off in Va. and Police Don’t Seem to Give a Damn. Why Is That?," 12 Aug. 2017
Likewise with these absolute cretins who find out your true love has ALS and then proceed to lecture you on leaving him immediately.

— heather havrilesky, The Cut, "Ask Polly: My Boyfriend Has ALS, and My Friends Are Making Things Worse," 9 Aug. 2017
And while it might be loaded with technology, it has been tamed to serve the story - even if the humans in it are a bunch of cretins.

— john petkovic, cleveland.com, "'War for the Planet of the Apes': apes have evolved more than humans (movie review)," 13 July 2017
However, these noose placing cretins have been able to move about and do their dastardly, not to mention cowardly, acts with no repercussion thus far.

— angela helm, The Root, "Where the Hell Are the Police? Another Noose Found on National Mall," 18 June 2017
Law's take on the royal cretin Vortigern ranges from very evil to very, very evil.

— john serba | jserba@mlive.com, NOLA.com, "Review: 'King Arthur: Legend of the Sword' essentially 'Guy Ritchie's Lord of the Thrones'," 12 May 2017
The problem, of course, is a small minority of cretins who are destructive just for the sake of being destructive, without any regard for the environment or any consideration for others who deserve to see our natural areas without blemish.

— steve lipsher, The Denver Post, "At Hanging Lake, vandals once again leave their mark on nature," 22 Apr. 2017
Among reasons nationally recruited 6-9 Cretin-Derham Hall junior Daniel Oturu committed to the Gophers last week were 6 a.m. in-person appearances by coach Richard Pitino and assistant Ben Johnson at his early season workouts.

— charley walters, Twin Cities, "Charley Walters: Legendary hockey coach Scotty Bowman gives ‘a lot of credit’ to Wild coach Bruce Boudreau," 28 Jan. 2017
There are troubles on the professional front as well, including some awful meetings with the dynamic and innovative crew of young cretins who seem to have taken over the operations of Nathalie’s longtime publisher.

— a. o. scott, New York Times, "Trailer: ‘Things To Come’," 29 Nov. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cretin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Chronic iodine deficiencies in diet can result in malfunctions of the thyroid gland, thr gland that produces hormones necessary for normal human development. Some mountainous regions, such as parts of the Alps, do not naturally provide their inhabitants with a diet rich enough in iodine, and the resultant hyperthyroidism causes dwarfism and severe mental retardation. In Franco-Provençal (the Romance speech of French Switzerland and adjacent areas of France), a person malformed due to hyperthyroidism was called a cretin, literally, “wretch, innocent victim,” The word meant simply “Christian” and emphasized the hyperthyroid victim's basic humanity.