idiot

• idjit, idget (nonstandard, indicating the pronunciation /ˈɪd͡ʒət/)
• eejit (Ireland, Scotland, nonstandard)

From Middle English idiote, ydiote, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”). Doublet of idiota.

• (UK, US) enPR: ĭdĭət, IPA^(key): /ˈɪdiət/
• (yod coalescence, non-standard) IPA^(key): /ˈɪd͡ʒət/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iət
• Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

idiot (plural idiots)

1. (derogatory) A person of low general intelligence.

   Only an idiot would fail this exam.

2. (derogatory) A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.

   We think that people who cycle without a helmet are idiots.

   • 2019 October 28, Devan Cole, “Biden calls Trump an ‘idiot’ for dismissing Russian election interference”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     “He’s an idiot – in terms of saying that. Everybody knows this. Everybody knows it. Nobody doubts it,” Biden said.

   • 2024 November 21, Andrew Kaczynski, “RFK Jr. compared Trump to Hitler and praised descriptions of his supporters as ‘Nazis’”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     “One of the things that you write so beautifully, and your stuff is so fun to read, but you write about Trump, quote, ‘The way that you build a truly vicious nationalist movement is to wed a relatively small core of belligerent idiots to a much larger group of opportunists and spineless fellow travelers whose primary function is to turn a blind eye to things,’” Kennedy said, reading Taibbi’s own writing back to him.

3. (obsolete, medicine, psychology) A person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.
   • 1896, Clifton Johnson, “Folks”, in What They Say in New England (non-fiction), Boston, Massachusetts, United States: Lee and Shepard Publishers, page 105:

     Idiots were thought to be peculiarly under the care of the Deity, and it was believed that those who treated them kindly would be blessed.

   • 1956, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part I, section 7”, in Sexual Offences Act 1956‎^[3], page 2:

     It is an offence for a man to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman whom he knows to be an idiot or imbecile.

• While pejorative, the word is only a weak insult, and between close friends or family members it may be used affectionately.

• See also Thesaurus:idiot

• genius

idiot (comparative more idiot, superlative most idiot)

1. (uncommon) Idiotic, stupid.

• idiot on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• IPA^(key): [ˈɪdɪjot]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: idiot

idiot m anim (female equivalent idiotka)

1. (mildly vulgar) idiot (disliked or slow-witted person)

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hlupák

2. idiot (person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old)

• “idiot”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “idiot”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “idiot”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

idiot

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot

• “idiot” in Den Danske Ordbog

From Old French idiot (cf. also the older form idiote), borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

• IPA^(key): /i.djo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: idiots
• Rhymes: -jo

idiot (feminine idiote, masculine plural idiots, feminine plural idiotes)

1. idiotic; stupid

idiot m (plural idiots, feminine idiote)

1. idiot

• idiot du village

• → Polish: idiota

• “idiot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idioter, definite plural idiotene)

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot
• kronidiot

• “idiot” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

• IPA^(key): /ɪd(ː)ɪˈuːt/

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idiotar, definite plural idiotane)

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot
• kronidiot

• “idiot” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• idiote

Borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

idiot m (oblique and nominative feminine singular idiote)

1. ignorant; narrow-minded

• The form idiote was sometimes used as both masculine and feminine, as a direct borrowing from Latin idiota.

• → English: idiot
• French: idiot

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (idiot, supplement)

• идиот (idiot) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Borrowed from French idiot, itself borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

• IPA^(key): /i.diˈot/

• Audio:

  (file)

idiot m (plural idioți, feminine equivalent idioată)

1. idiot; moron; imbecile

   Synonyms: cretin, imbecil, prost, tâmpit

idiot m or n (feminine singular idioată, masculine plural idioți, feminine and neuter plural idioate)

1. stupid; idiotic; foolish; absurd

   Synonyms: prost, stupid, tâmpit

• “idiot”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

From Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”).

• IPA^(key): /idǐot/
• Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

idìot m anim (Cyrillic spelling идѝот)

1. idiot

• glùpan
• blèsan
• krètēn

Derived from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈiɟiɔt]

idiot m pers (female equivalent idiotka, relational adjective idiotský)

1. (derogatory) idiot

• idiotický
• idioticky
• idiotstvo
• idiotizmus

• blázon
• hlupák

• “idiot”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”).

• IPA^(key): /ɪdɪˈuːt/

• Audio:

  (file)

idiot c

1. (derogatory) an idiot

   Din idiot

   You idiot

   Vilka idioter

   What idiots

• idioti
• idiotisera
• idiotisk

• idiot in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• idiot in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• idiot in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)