If you call someone an idiot, you are showing that you think they are very stupid or have done something very stupid.
[disapproval]
I knew I'd been an idiot to stay there.
Synonyms: fool, jerk [slang, mainly US, Canadian], ass, plank [British, slang] More Synonyms of idiot
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Idiot means stupid.
Synonyms: stupid, simple, slow, thick More Synonyms of idiot
3. countable noun
In the past, people who had something wrong with their brains that made them seem less intelligent, or different from other people, were sometimes called idiots.
[old-fashioned]
idiot in British English
(ˈɪdɪət)
noun
1.
a foolish or senseless person
2. old-fashioned, offensive
a person with severe learning difficulties
Word origin
C13: from Latin idiōta ignorant person, from Greek idiōtēs private person, one who lacks professional knowledge, ignoramus; see idio-
idiot in American English
(ˈidiət)
noun
1.
an utterly foolish or weak-minded person
2. Psychology obsolete
a person of the lowest order in a former classification of mental ability, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25
Word origin
[1250–1300; ME ‹ L idiōta ‹ Gk idio᷇tēs private person, layman, person lacking skill or expertise, equiv. to idiō- (lengthened var. of idio-idio-, perh. by analogy with stratiōtēs professional soldier, deriv. of stratiá army) + -tēs agent n. suffix]
COBUILD Collocations
idiot
complete idiot
In other languages
idiot
British English: idiot /ˈɪdɪət/ NOUN
If you call someone an idiot, you mean that they are very stupid.
I was an idiot to stay there.
American English: idiot
Arabic: أَبْلَهٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: idiota
Chinese: 白痴
Croatian: idiot
Czech: idiot
Danish: idiot
Dutch: idioot
European Spanish: idiota
Finnish: idiootti
French: idiot
German: Idiot
Greek: ηλίθιος
Italian: idiota
Japanese: ばか
Korean: 바보
Norwegian: idiot
Polish: idiota
European Portuguese: idiota
Romanian: idiot
Russian: идиот
Latin American Spanish: idiota
Swedish: idiot
Thai: คนโง่
Turkish: salak
Ukrainian: ідіот
Vietnamese: thằng ngốc
All related terms of 'idiot'
idiot box
The idiot box is the television.
idiot board
a board, placard , etc. bearing the lines to be spoken by a television performer, used in prompting
idiot light
a light on an instrument panel or dashboard that reminds or warns the operator or driver of something
idiot-proof
providing protection against human error or misuse
idiot tape
an input tape for a typesetting machine that contains text only, the typographical instructions being supplied by the typesetting machine itself
idiot savant
a man of great learning ; sage
idiot strings
strings attached to children's mittens to prevent the wearer from losing them
village idiot
someone who is well known in their community for their stupidity and ignorant behaviour
complete idiot
If you call someone an idiot , you are showing that you think they are very stupid or have done something very stupid.
idiots savants
a man of great learning ; sage
Chinese translation of 'idiot'
idiot
(ˈɪdɪət)
n(c)
傻子 (shǎzi) (个(個), gè)
(noun)
Definition
a foolish or senseless person
I knew I'd been an idiot to stay there.
Synonyms
fool
She'd been a fool to accept the offer.
jerk (slang, mainly US, Canadian)
He'd tricked her into walking into the garbage, to make her look like a total jerk!
ass
He was regarded as a pompous ass.
plank (British, slang)
charlie (British, informal, old-fashioned)
berk (British, slang)
prick (taboo, slang)
wally (slang)
prat (slang)
plonker (slang, old-fashioned)
twit (informal, mainly British)
a pompous twit who loved the sound of his own voice
chump
oaf (old-fashioned)
some oaf shouting into his phone
airhead (slang)
dimwit (informal)
Frankly, only a dimwit would say that.
dipstick (British, slang)
dickhead (taboo, slang)
gonzo (slang, rare)
schmuck (US, slang)
dork (slang)
nitwit (informal)
You great nitwit! What did you do that for?
blockhead
a bunch of bowler-hatted blockheads
divvy (British, slang, rare)
pillock (British, slang)
halfwit
nincompoop (old-fashioned)
Only a complete nincompoop would believe a story like that.
dweeb (US, slang)
putz (US, slang)
eejit (Scottish, Irish)
thicko (British, slang)
dumb-ass (slang)
gobshite (Irish, taboo, slang)
dunderhead
numpty (Scottish, informal)
doofus (slang, mainly US)
lamebrain (informal)
fuckwit (taboo, slang)
mooncalf (rare)
numbskull or numskull
galah (Australian, New Zealand, informal)
booby (old-fashioned)
Her husband is a booby.
coot (old-fashioned)
dickwit (taboo, slang)
dorba or dorb (Australian, slang)
bogan (Australian, slang)
dill (Australian, New Zealand, informal)
mampara (South Africa, informal)
(adjective)
Here comes my idiot cousin.
Synonyms
stupid
I'm not stupid, you know.
simple
He's no fool, though perhaps a bit simple in some ways.
slow
thick
He speaks to me as if I'm thick.
dull
naive
dim (informal)
The new student wasn't as dim as we first thought.
dense
You can be a bit dense sometimes.
dumb (informal)
I came up with this dumb idea.
deficient
crass
They have behaved with crass insensitivity.
gullible
simple-minded
dozy (British, informal)
Some dozy bloke ignored the warning signs and drove into a lake.
witless
a witless piece of planning
stolid
the stolid faces of the two detectives
dopey (informal)
I was so dopey I believed him.
obtuse
I think you're being deliberately obtuse.
brainless
I got treated as if I was a bit brainless.
cretinous
unintelligent
He was abusive of Hemingway as an unintelligent philistine.