retarded

From retard +‎ -ed.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈtɑːdɪd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɹiˈtɑɹdɪd/

retarded (comparative more retarded, superlative most retarded)

1. Delayed; delayed in development, hindered; impeded. [from 17th c.]

   This kind of plant is usually of a retarded growth.

   • 1902, Doyle, Arthur Conan, “Author's Preface”, in The Complete Napoleonic Stories‎, OCLC 249211947, page vi:

     We know cases where obscurity of style has retarded the recognition of really great writers—but obscurity of style is not a virtue, and they were great in spite of it.

   • 1971, Watson, William, Cultural Frontiers in Ancient East Asia‎, Edinburgh University Press, →ISBN, LCCN 70-159591, OCLC 906061811, page 128:

     The last zone, lying beyond the Ch‘ang-pai mountains, was in special isolation and culturally as retarded as regions much farther north.

   • 2004, Duncan Mackay, The Observer, 8 Aug 2004:

     HGH, which was originally developed to assist children with retarded growth, is believed to be especially popular with sprinters.

2. (psychology, now offensive, dated) Having mental retardation; mentally deficient or underdeveloped.
   • 2000, Kate Connolly, The Guardian, 19 Apr 2000:

     The European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest, which is representing the children - from the north-eastern city of Ostrava - said that the education ministry and local authorities had for decades "perpetuated a system which routinely brands disproportionate numbers of Gypsies as mentally retarded".

3. (psychology, now offensive, dated) Specifically, having an IQ below 70. [from 19th c.]
4. (colloquial, derogatory, offensive) Extremely stupid. [from 20th c.]
   • 1988, Raymond E Feist, Faerie Tale:

     Looking at Jack, Gabbie said, "What?" "That's the Troll Bridge." She groaned at the pun. "That's retarded."

   • 1997, Carlin, George, “SIGNS”, in Brain Droppings‎, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, LCCN 96-52373, OCLC 36084460, OL 26335012M, page 66:

     I've got a terrific sign in front of my house that keeps intruders out: Retarded Pit Bull High on Angel Dust. No one's come over the wall yet. Except a couple of retarded guys who were high on angel dust.

5. (physics) Designating a parameter of an electromagnetic field which is adjusted to account for the finite speed of radiation. [from 20th c.]

• It is politically incorrect (to be avoided generally) to use this word in the present-day United States cultural context, where the word is usually considered offensive or impolite (outside rare technical usage).

• r-slurred (euphemism)
• rarted (euphemism)

retarded

1. simple past tense and past participle of retard

• retraded

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

• Hyphenation: re‧tar‧ded

retarded

1. retarded; having mental retardation; mentally deficient

retarded

1. a retard