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
  • Counsel was enraged that his gambit was foiled by one jury holdout on the insanity argument.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Prosecutors questioned the schizophrenia diagnosis and pointed out that suffering from mental illness is not the same as meeting the legal standard of insanity.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of insanity
Noun
  • Zosia Mamet, Jason Schwartzman, Chris O’Dowd, Billie Lourd, and Will Price flit in and out of the picture, some trying to act as the voices of reason and others cheering on the madness.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Does this guy go to a movie or play, or even read a book, to escape the madness?
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 4 Oct. 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
  • Such a complicated form belies the simplicity of much of the language in it.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026
  • This season’s star was the Asa Tote, a large flat architectural shape with asymmetric shoulder straps that shined in its simplicity thanks to the contrasting textures, like in the charming canvas and leather version.
    — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of simplicity
Noun
  • Savage’s movie is so committed to its own absurdity that the extraordinary begins to feel mundane.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
  • But series creator Rolin Jones and his staff also fully understood the absurdity of that sentence.
    — Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 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 12 Oct. 2026.

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