🧠 With severe disability 🚫 Offensive old term

oligophrenic

1 9.9

Having very low mental ability that makes daily life hard

adjective
/ˌɑlɪɡəˈfrɛnɪk/

NSFW

: oligofrénico

The educational program is designed for children who are oligophrenic to help them learn essential skills.

Examples

Even his least oligophrenic dupes supplement their already generous incomes by selling contraband on the black market.

Blog text (21)
Teachers often receive special training to support oligophrenic students effectively in the classroom.
During the assessment, the psychologist noted that the patient was significantly oligophrenic and required additional care.

Synonyms

intellectually challenged

vsoligophrenic

4 7.4

A person who has difficulty learning or understanding new things

emphasizes cases that are especially severe or profound

developmentally challenged

vsoligophrenic

1 5.3

People who have difficulty learning and understanding things

refers especially to very severe or profound intellectual disability

cerebrally challenged

vsoligophrenic

NSFW

1 9.5

A person who has difficulty thinking or learning because of a brain problem

highlights that cases are often severe or profoundly affected

Antonyms

gifted

157 3.5

Having very strong natural ability, often in art, music, or school subjects

How Severe

profound

188 5.3

oligophrenic

NSFW

1 9.9

moderate

310 3.3

mild

206 1.0

unimpaired

1 5.1

Surface Forms

oligophrenic positive

Morphology

oligophrenic = oligophrenia (opaque) = oligo + phren + ic

The components are Greek combining forms used in medical terminology and are not transparently meaningful to an average B1 learner; the term is technical and dated.

Etymology

Oligophrenic comes from Greek parts oligo- 'few' or 'small' and phren 'mind', so it literally meant 'small mind'. So, as an adjective, oligophrenic is used in medical contexts to describe a severe intellectual disability.