# imbecile

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪmbəˈsiːl/ · frequency rank #34,118

## Definitions
1. A person with limited mental capacity who can perform tasks and think only like a young child, in medical circles meaning a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal five- to seven-year-old child.
2. A fool, an idiot.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French imbécile, from Latin imbēcillus (“weak, feeble”), literally “without a staff”.

## Common misspellings (11)
`ibmecile`, `imbbecile`, `imbceile`, `imbeccile`, `imbeciel`, `imbecille`, `imbeclie`, `imbeicle`, `imebcile`, `immbecile`, `mibecile`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/imbecile