imbécil

From Latin imbēcillus, from in- (“no”) + baculum (“walking stick, staff”), in the sense of “weak, vulnerable”.

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /imˈbeθil/ [ĩmˈbe.θil]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /imˈbesil/ [ĩmˈbe.sil]
• (Spain) Rhymes: -eθil
• (Latin America) Rhymes: -esil
• Syllabification: im‧bé‧cil

imbécil m or f (masculine and feminine plural imbéciles)

1. (offensive) dumb, having the properties of an imbecile

imbécil m or f by sense (plural imbéciles)

1. (offensive) imbecile, moron, dimwit, nitwit, sucker, dolt, shithead, nincompoop
2. (offensive) asshole, prick, jerk, dickhead, twit, twerp, schmuck

• Although in some contexts zonzo, bobo, tonto, menso, culero, tarado, idiota, imbécil, estúpido and pendejo may be synonyms, in most contexts have a different degree, zonzo having the mildest connotation, increasing its intensity in that rough order, to estúpido and pendejo, which have the most offensive sense.

• “imbécil”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014