intellectual disability

noun

Any disability that affects the intellect or cognitive ability of a person.

Meanings

nounintellectual disability (plural intellectual disabilities)

plural intellectual disabilities · alternative initialism ID

  1. Any disability that affects the intellect or cognitive ability of a person.

    Students with intellectual disabilities, such as reading or developmental disabilities, may be given picture cues of certain emotions to match with nature.

    2014, Suzanne Degges-White, Bonnie R. Colon, Expressive Arts Interventions for School Counselors, →ISBN, page 309
    2 more examples

    It is claimed that 20 per cent of children will have an intellectual disability at some time in their lives, which may result from medical problems, sensory impairments, hysical disabilities, emotional and behavioural difficulties, language impairments, or specific learning problems such as dyslexia or autism [Emerson et al. 2001:7].

    2008, Linda Leung, Digital Experience Design: Ideas, Industries, Interaction, →ISBN, page 70

    Rather, my subjects are independent people who are older than 18—not teenagers or children—who are without intellectual disabilities—such as Alzheimer's disease.

    2015, Ruiping Fan, Family-Oriented Informed Consent: East Asian and American Perspectives, →ISBN
    1. specificallyusuallyAn IQ below 70 or a severely below average ability to reason and to develop basic living skills.

      Synonyms: mental retardation, MR

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn IQ below 70 or a severely below average ability to reason and to develop basic living skills.

Translations

Esperanto intelekta malkapablo
  • intelekta malkapabloTranslations
Finnish kehitysvamma
  • kehitysvammaTranslations
French handicap mental
  • handicap mentalTranslations
German geistige Behinderung
  • geistige BehinderungTranslations
Italian disabilità intellettiva
  • disabilità intellettivaTranslations
Polish niepełnosprawność intelektualna
  • niepełnosprawność intelektualnaTranslations
Russian умственная отсталость
  • умственная отсталость (umstvennaja otstalostʹ)Translations
Slovak duševná zaostalosť
  • duševná zaostalosťTranslations
Spanish discapacidad intelectual
  • discapacidad intelectualTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

intellectual disability. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intellectual%20disability

MLA

“intellectual disability.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intellectual%20disability. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “intellectual disability,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intellectual%20disability.

Source: intellectual disability on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.