as in idiot
a stupid person
only an imbecile would leave their car unlocked, with the keys in the ignition, and then be surprised when the vehicle was stolen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or imbecilic
as in idiotic
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of imbecile
Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Evil is insolent and strong; beauty enchanting but rare; goodness very apt to be weak; folly very apt to be defiant; wickedness to carry the day; imbeciles to be in great places, people of sense in small, and mankind generally unhappy.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2016
Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government.
—Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2016
Noun
Insulting this imbecile became the most rewarding pastime on earth.
—Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Evil is insolent and strong; beauty enchanting but rare; goodness very apt to be weak; folly very apt to be defiant; wickedness to carry the day; imbeciles to be in great places, people of sense in small, and mankind generally unhappy.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2016
Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government.
—Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imbecile
Adjective
-
This genre parody of Steven Segal action films and post-9/11 media like 24 is a show-within-a-show spun off Adult Swim web series On Cinema at the Cinema, wherein Tim Heidecker plays an evil, buffoonish, idiotic, shallow, narcissistic, Trumpian version of himself.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
-
We were just stunned by my idiotic behavior, but that idea that of the constancy was suddenly were wiped.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.—
Colm Tóibín,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
-
This drunk moron — quite different from his character in the novel — bears a ton of blame.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
This is a dumb move by both parties.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Amazon is reportedly considering a dumb phone design to make this an additional device people would use alongside their typical Android phone or iPhone, rather than competing to become their main handset.—
James Peckham,
PC Magazine,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The scale of the headloss was best summed up by Luis Suarez attempting to reason with Messi, before the Argentine did anything on the Suarez scale of stupid.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
-
But the new parking fees at Balboa Park are a whole new level of stupid.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
His moronic tariffs continue to blow up in his face, spiking inflation and getting zero concessions from China.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
In the annals of moronic behavior, driving forty minutes out of your way in the middle of the night in order to secretly and skillfully cut down everybody’s favorite tree does not come up.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Hatosy’s Titus is the Danforths’ disappointing fail son and the actor keeps his face in a delightfully foolish little pout.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
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Your fast response and decisive actions prevented this foolish criminal act from endangering the rest of the county.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And the material takes wild swings from the expected (roboticized pre-flight airline announcements) to the inane (pet-store gerbils and a carton of raspberries costing the same amount of money), making the whole show feel almost claustrophobic.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Many of the jokes played off the inane truths of the work environment.—
Chris Koseluk,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Given some of Trump’s most problematic remarks about Ukraine, this hope may not have been completely fatuous.—
Daniel Fried,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The fatuous Fed/1930s narrative raises a basic question: why are successful investors paid so well?—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Imbecile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imbecile. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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