intellectual disability

noun

: mild to severe impairment in intellectual ability equivalent to an IQ of 70 to 75 or below that is accompanied by significant limitations in social, practical, and conceptual skills (as in interpersonal communication, reasoning, or self-care) necessary for independent daily functioning and that has an onset before age 18

Note: The term intellectual disability is now preferred over mental retardation in medical, educational, and regulatory contexts, as well as in general use. The term mental retardation is increasingly considered offensive, though it was the dominant term into the second decade of the current century.

Examples of intellectual disability in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The family atmosphere at this unique property is fueled by the welcoming staff, many of whom are students at the ClemsonLIFE program, which provides a postsecondary college experience for young adults with intellectual disabilities. —Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025

First opened in 1908 as the Eastern Pennsylvania Institution for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic, over time Pennhurst became notorious for inhumane treatment of people with both physical and intellectual disabilities. —Jen Rose Smith, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025

About 1 in 1,000 children who get sick develop encephalitis, or brain inflammation, which can lead to deafness, convulsions and intellectual disabilities. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025

Researchers have linked this mutation to developmental delay, intellectual disability and psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia. —Santhosh Girirajan, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for intellectual disability

• ability
• agility
• civility
• debility
• docility
• ductility
• facility
• fertility
• fragility
• futility
• gentility
• hostility

Kids Definition

intellectual disability

noun

: mild to severe impairment in intellectual ability accompanied by significant limitations in skills (as in communication, reasoning, or self-care) necessary for independent daily functioning

Medical Definition

intellectual disability

noun

: mild to severe impairment in intellectual ability equivalent to an IQ of 70 to 75 or below that is accompanied by significant limitations in social, practical, and conceptual skills (as in interpersonal communication, reasoning, or self-care) necessary for independent daily functioning and that has an onset before age 18

Note: The term intellectual disability is now preferred over mental retardation in medical, educational, and regulatory contexts, as well as in general use. The term mental retardation is increasingly considered offensive, though it was the dominant term into the second decade of the current century.

… Rosa's Law, which changed references in federal law from "mental retardation" to "intellectual disability" and references to a mentally retarded individual to an individual with an intellectual disability.

—Victor R. Martinez