MENTAL RETARDATION

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does mental retardation mean? 

• MENTAL RETARDATION (noun)
  The noun MENTAL RETARDATION has 1 sense:

1. lack of normal development of intellectual capacities

  Familiarity information: MENTAL RETARDATION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MENTAL RETARDATION (noun)

Meaning:

Lack of normal development of intellectual capacities

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

backwardness; mental retardation; subnormality; slowness; retardation

Hypernyms ("mental retardation" is a kind of...):

stupidity (a poor ability to understand or to profit from experience)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mental retardation"):

abnormality; mental defectiveness (retardation sufficient to fall outside the normal range of intelligence)

mental deficiency; moronity (mild mental retardation)

amentia; idiocy (extreme mental retardation)

imbecility (retardation more severe than a moron but not as severe as an idiot)