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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imbecility
Noun
-
Iran’s nuclear insanity leaves America and allies no room to blink.—
,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
That still leaves the sanity phase of his trial, which will determine whether Fahim — who previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity — faces up to life in prison without parole or being sent to a state hospital for treatment.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
No movie-length version of The Shining could have ever captured Jack Torrance’s very gradual slide into madness as well as King’s novel.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
-
The madness of March came and went and brought glory in April.—
Bruce Pearl,
Washington Post,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There’s a heartwarming idiocy to their pursuit, yet what festers underneath is their inability to process grief consciously and the fear that those who deem their existence meaningless might be right.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
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Gunther and Tig are two billionaire failsons who have wasted countless opportunities and cash chasing the stupidest ideas and who get rewarded over and over again for their idiocy.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Bieber hit the hard reset on Coachella maximalism The entire performance dealt in assured simplicity from the 32-year-old.—
Reanna Cruz,
Vulture,
13 Apr. 2026
-
In reimagining the 1950s-style entry, Misso opted for simplicity, ditching traditional trim around the white oak door in favor of a brick surround painted Benjamin Moore’s White Dove.—
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The movie’s antic humor evokes the international Fluxus movement of the nineteen-sixties and seventies, which made political arguments through outrageous absurdity.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
There might be a small touch of some discomfort or dissonance or awkwardness or absurdity or something.—
Deputy Entertainment,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
If not for the stupidity of Joe Biden and the Democrats, ICE would have an easier job.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
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Smart, skilled, hardworking people gracefully put up with all manner of tragedy, stupidity, and institutional rot.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imbecility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imbecility. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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