In typical usage, retard is a pejorative term either for someone with an actual mental disability, or for someone who is considered stupid, slow to understand, or ineffective in some way as a comparison to stereotypical traits perceived in those with mental disabilities.[1] The adjective retarded is used in the same way, for something very foolish or stupid.[2][3] The word is sometimes censored and referred to as the euphemistic "r‑word" or "r‑slur".[4]
Retard was previously used as a medical term. The verb "to retard" means 'to delay or hold back', and so "retard" became known as a medical term in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to describe children with intellectual disabilities, or retarded mental development.[5] For context, until the 1960s, the terms moron, idiot, cretin, and imbecile were all genuine, non-offensive terms used, including by psychiatrists, to refer to people with mental intellectual disabilities and low intelligence. These words were discontinued in that form when concerns arose that they had developed negative meanings, with "retard" and "retarded" replacing them.[6][7] After that, the terms "handicapped" (United States) and "disabled" (United Kingdom) replaced "retard" and "retarded". Disabled is now considered a more polite term than handicapped in the United States as well.
- ^ "Retard Definition & Meaning". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Retarded Definition & Meaning". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "Retarded | Definition of Retarded in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford English Dictionaries. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Why the R-Word Is the R-Slur". Special Olympics. September 25, 2020. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ Fairman, Christopher M. (February 14, 2010). "The Case Against Banning the Word 'Retard'". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ Wilkins, Julia. "The Uses and Implications of the Term "Retarded" on YouTube". Academia.edu. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ Hiskey, Daven (March 31, 2010). "The Words Moron, Imbecile, and Idiot Mean Different Things". Today I Found Out. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.