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
-
Adair Fish pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on May 4, a spokesperson with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said.—
Laura Bauer
June 2,
Kansas City Star,
2 June 2026
-
The Dutchman pleaded guilty to the murder charges, claiming temporary insanity.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
As the saying goes, there is no great genius without some touch of madness.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
-
Some families came from beyond the KC area to catch the banana madness.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
That’s the level of idiocy in the Los Angeles city government.—
Susan Shelley,
Daily News,
13 May 2026
-
The idiocy of these people knows no bounds.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The project posed several issues for an artist who had always emphasized clarity and simplicity in his solitary picture-taking.—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Baoase is also transporting, as any memorable hotel should be, with a strong Asian-esque design that includes ubiquitous Balinese Hindu statues, idols, and sculptures, and a reliance on simplicity over dazzle.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
This is a racist absurdity in addition to being an impossible read of the Constitution, which is perhaps why the Roberts Court has buried it under so many layers of obfuscation.—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
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Often, that makes for a hilarious juxtaposition with the work of the show’s production designer Sharon Lomofsky, who brilliantly captures the absurdity of certain vacation destinations like a barbecue restaurant a stone’s throw from the remote Upstate New York hotel the characters are staying at.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Don’t just try to be brilliant; focus on avoiding stupidity.—
Nilton Bernini,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Nobody doggedly builds a stand-up career that takes them from clubs to theaters to selling out arena tours from a foundation of genuine stupidity.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imbecility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imbecility. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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