Varying Degrees of Stupid

Varying Degrees of Stupid Varying Degrees of Stupid Varying Degrees of Stupid By Maeve Maddox As I browse the Web, skimming comments on various topics, one word comes up again and again: stupid. There’s no end of people or things that some grump somewhere is calling stupid in speech or in writing. For example: The government is stupid. Women are stupid. Men are stupid. April Fool’s Day is stupid. Handwriting is stupid. Classical music is stupid. Riding a bicycle is stupid. What a waste! English speakers are blessed with dozens of words that convey numerous shades of stupidity. First, let’s look at the meaning of stupid. Some speakers regard it as the opposite of intelligent, but that’s misleading. Intelligent people often say and do stupid things. Stupid derives from the Latin adjective stupidus, which in turn comes from the Latin verb stupere, â€Å"to be stunned or benumbed.† English stupid is still used with that meaning. For example, a person might be â€Å"stupid from a blow to the head,† â€Å"stupid with grief,† â€Å"stupid with sleep,† â€Å"stupid from lack of sleep,† or â€Å"stupid with drink.† In these contexts, the stupidity is temporary. It refers to an impaired ability to think and react normally. More commonly, applied to a person, stupid means â€Å"slow of mental perception.† A stupid person is slow-witted, lacking in quickness of mind. Applied to an idea or a thing, stupid means that the thing is dull, uninteresting, or ill-considered. Numerous synonyms for stupid exist. When the intention is to point out a lapse of judgment or careful thought, these are useful options in serious discussions of literature, personal relationships, and public affairs: unintelligent foolish vacuous vapid obtuse nonsensical unwise injudicious inane absurd fatuous asinine unthinking ill-advised ill-considered ludicrous ridiculous laughable risible Some terms common in colloquial speech are considered inappropriate for formal use because they derive from terms once used to describe types of mental deficiencies. For example: idiotic imbecilic moronic cretinous Note: The words ignorant and dumb are also used colloquially to mean â€Å"mentally slow,† but they are unfortunate choices. Everyone is ignorant in some areas. All ignorant means is â€Å"lacking in knowledge.† Likewise, dumb has a meaning unrelated to intellectual ability: â€Å"unable to speak.† An intelligent, well-informed person may for some reason lack the ability to speak. Some words that name impaired thinking also connote ridicule and disdain: dense doltish thick, thickheaded dim, dimwitted dopey dozy pea-brained half-witted brain-dead bone-headed daft crazy cracked half-baked dimwitted cockeyed harebrained lamebrained nutty batty cuckoo simple-minded loony loopy Finally a few adjectives convey the idea of stupidity without the sting of ridicule- among friends, at least. Here are some: daft dopey dozy scatter-brained nutty batty cuckoo loony loopy Admission: Even with all these options, sometimes stupid is the only word that satisfies the feelings of the speaker. For example, â€Å"This stupid app keeps crashing!† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SHow to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors15 English Words of Indian Origin