idiocy
[ˈɪɾiəsi]noun
idiocy is spelled I-D-I-O-C-Y: 6 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, idiocy means “The state or condition of being an idiot; the quality of having an intelligence level far below average” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of idiocy is idiocies.
How many letters and syllables are in idiocy?
| Letters | 6: I-D-I-O-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is idiocy?
Idiocy appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce idiocy?
- /ˈɪdiəsi/
- US [ˈɪɾiəsi]
Idiocy has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-idiocy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of idiocy
- idiocies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does idiocy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedderogatoryThe state or condition of being an idiot; the quality of having an intelligence level far below average.
- 2
Lack of intelligence or sense; extremely foolish behaviour.
The administrators, growing tired of such idiocy, put a new policy in place.
- 3
An idiotic act or utterance.
The list of his idiocies is seemingly interminable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Idiocy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense state of being an idiot:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does idiocy come from?
From French idiotie, from Old French idiot. Displaced earlier idiotacy, idiotry. Equivalent to idiot + -cy. By surface analysis, idio- + -cy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).