imbecility

noun

ˌim-bə-ˈsi-lə-tē How to pronounce imbecility (audio)
Definition of imbecilitynext
1
as in insanity
a foolish act or idea was arrested for the sheer imbecility of speeding down a dark road with no headlights on

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2
as in madness
lack of good sense or judgment we were stunned by the imbecility of the ideas presented by this once-respected biologist

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of imbecility When Constanze reaches her breaking point, Mozart’s imbecility is exposed as fragility. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imbecility
  1. insanity
  2. madness
  3. idiocy
  4. simplicity
  5. absurdity
Noun
  • The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over.
    — Ryan Ottignon, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Bennett asked the jury to find Hinton not guilty by reason of insanity.
    — Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of insanity
Noun
  • This kind of excision, this near total erasure of the Black voice, can turn one toward madness, certainly toward bitterness.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
  • From the Kahn Brothers comes a brainy comedy about fathers and sons, science and madness, and second chances.
    — Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of madness
Noun
  • There's always been an element of complete idiocy in the culture.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Forty years on, Spy magazine is best remembered, not unjustly, as the first entity to call out Trump for his tackiness, villainy, and arrant idiocy.
    — David Kamp, Air Mail, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of idiocy
Noun
  • One can treat it as an indelible feature of human psychology, an unavoidable by-product of our appetite for simplicity and affiliation.
    — Paul Bloom, New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Despite the beery bonhomie and singalong-friendly simplicity of their tunes, the Twisted Teens are grappling with an increasingly complex tangle of contradictions and tensions.
    — Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of simplicity
Noun
  • Dramatizing OpenAI’s chaotic 2023 firing and rehiring of Sam Altman (Andrew Garfield), the dark comedy finds absurdity in the gap between Big Tech’s grandiose promises and the frequently clownish folks making them.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The human stories are as thin as tissue paper (returning players Rebecca Hall, Kaylee Hottle, and Brian Tyree Henry can’t save this script), but the movie isn’t short on kaiju and monster-sized absurdity.
    — Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of absurdity

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imbecilities
imbecility
imbibe
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Cite this Entry

“Imbecility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imbecility. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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