retard

From Middle English, from Anglo-Norman or Latin, from Anglo-Norman retarder, from Latin retardāre (“to retard”), from re- + tardus (“slow”)

Noun (delay sense), verb

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈtɑː(ɹ)d/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)d

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

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Noun (offensive slang sense)

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈɹiːtɑː(ɹ)d/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

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retard (plural retards)

1. Retardation; delay.
2. (music) A slowing down of the tempo; a ritardando.
3. (offensive, dated) A person with mental retardation.

   The retard in our class needs special help.

4. (informal, offensive) Any stupid person, or one who is slow to learn.

Through the euphemism treadmill, the term retard (which originated as a neutral substitute for the terms that had previously designated those with disabilities, namely idiot, imbecile, and moron) has come to be considered offensive; see Wikipedia for more. In a 2003 survey by the BBC, retard was voted the most offensive word relating to disability, followed by spastic.[1]

• (retardation): delay, hold-up, retardation
• (person with mental retardation): retarded, idiot, tard (offensive), imbecile (disused medical term), mental deficient (legal term), moron (disused medical term), person with learning difficulties
• (stupid person): See also Thesaurus:fool

• -tard

retard (third-person singular simple present retards, present participle retarding, simple past and past participle retarded)

1. (transitive) To keep delaying; to continue to hinder; to prevent from progress

   retard the march of an army

   retard the motion of a ship

   Synonyms: impede, hinder, hold up

2. (transitive) To put off; to postpone.

   to retard the attacks of old age

   to retard a rupture between nations

3. (transitive, obsolete) To be slow or dilatory to perform (something).
4. (intransitive) To decelerate; to slow down.
5. (intransitive, obsolete) To stay back.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Thomas Browne to this entry?)

• (keep delaying; continue to hinder): decelerate, hinder, slow, slow down; See also Thesaurus:hinder
• (postpone): postpone, put off; See also Thesaurus:procrastinate
• (slow to perform): reluctant
• (decelerate): decelerate, slow, slow down, slow up
• (stay back): hang back, stay back; See also Thesaurus:tarry

• (keep delaying; continue to hinder): accelerate, speed, speed up
• (postpone):
• (stay back): come forward

• retarded

• IQ Basics, including formerly used medical terms for people with very low IQs

• Darter, R-rated, Trader, darter, dartre, retrad, tarred, trader

From the verb retarder

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retard m (plural retards)

1. delay

• en retard

• “retard” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• tarder, trader