Someone who is handicapped has a physical or mental disability that prevents them living a totally normal life. Many people who have a disability find this word offensive.
[offensive]
I'm going to work two days a week teaching handicapped kids to fish.
Alex was mentally handicapped.
Some people refer to people who are handicapped as the handicapped.
...measures to prevent discrimination against the handicapped.
handicapped in British English
(ˈhændɪˌkæpt)
adjective
1. old-fashioned, sometimes offensive
physically or intellectually disabled
2. psychology
denoting a person whose social behaviour or emotional reactions are in some way impaired
3.
(of a competitor) assigned a handicap
▶ USAGE The use of the word handicapped to describe people with disabilities is generally considered inappropriate. It ispreferable to refer to someone as having a disability and to talk about people with disabilities
handicapped in American English
(ˈhændiˌkæpt)
adjective
1. sometimes offensive
having a physical or mental disability
2. (of a contestant)
marked by, being under, or having a handicap
a handicapped player
noun
3. (used with a plural v.) sometimes offensive (usually preceded by the)
people who have a disability
increased job opportunities for the handicapped
Word origin
[1910–15; handicap + -ed3]
Synonyms of 'handicapped'
In other languages
handicapped
British English: handicapped /ˈhændɪˌkæpt/ ADJECTIVE
A handicapped person has a physical or mental disability. Many people find this term offensive.
Alex was mentally handicapped.
American English: handicapped
Arabic: مُعَاق
Brazilian Portuguese: deficiente
Chinese: 残疾的
Croatian: hendikepiran
Czech: postižený
Danish: handicappet
Dutch: gehandicapt
European Spanish: discapacitado
Finnish: vammainen
French: handicapé
German: behindert
Greek: ανάπηρος
Italian: disabile
Japanese: 障害のある
Korean: 장애가 있는
Norwegian: handikappet
Polish: upośledzony
European Portuguese: deficiente
Romanian: handicapat
Russian: неполноценный
Latin American Spanish: minusválido
Swedish: funktionshindrad
Thai: พิการ พิการ
Turkish: özürlü
Ukrainian: неповноцінний
Vietnamese: tàn tật
All related terms of 'handicapped'
handicap
A handicap is a physical or mental disability.
handicapping
something that hampers or hinders
hcp
handicap
registered handicapped
on a local authority register under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970
visually handicapped
unable to carry out normal activities because of defects of vision , including blindness
intellectually handicapped
having a learning disability
mental handicap
a general or specific intellectual disability , resulting directly or indirectly from injury to the brain or from abnormal neurological development
physical handicap
loss of or failure to develop a specific bodily function or functions, whether of movement, sensation , coordination , or speech, but excluding mental disabilities