idiot
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a person who does something very stupid or makes a bad decision.
a person who acts in a foolish or reckless manner. While common in casual speech, it remains an insult and can be offensive depending on the context.
Simple“I felt like such an idiot when I realized I had left my keys inside the car.”
In context“He was acting like a complete idiot, shouting at the waiter for a mistake that wasn't even the restaurant's fault.”
UsageOften used with the adjective 'complete', 'total', or 'absolute' for emphasis.
Teacher's tipLearners should be aware that while friends might use this jokingly with each other, it is a genuine insult when directed at a stranger or used in a professional setting.
“The second is that she was competing in the age of social media, allowing every idiot with a phone to mock her performance in real time.”
“Is he a scam artist juicing idiots for cash?”
From Middle English idiote, ydiote, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”). Doublet of idiota. By surface analysis, idi- + -ot.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.