The study found evidence that iron deficiency can lower intelligence test scores by five to seven points, and a lack of iodine in pregnancy causes as many as 20 million babies a year to be born with mental retardation.
Source: tatoeba (10957290)
Retardation
/ˌɹiː.tɑːˈdeɪ̯.ʃən/
Synonyms for "retardation" (168 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (34)
Noun(6 words)
afterthoughtamentiaarrestarrestationarrested developmentarrestmentbackwardnessbindblithering idiocyblockblockadeblockageblockingbureaucratic delaycheckcloggingclosing upclosureconstraintconstriction
Strong matches (50)
Interjection(1 words)
dang delay
decelerationdelaydelayagedelayed reactiondetainmentdetentiondoldrumsdouble takedragdraggingease-offease-upfixationflaggingfoot draggingfoot-dragginghalf-wittednesshalthamperinghang up
Noun(7 words)
Related words (84)
letdownletuplogjammental defectivenessmental deficiencymental handicapmental retardationminus accelerationmongolianismmongolismmongoloid idiocymonopolymoratoriummoronismmoronitynegativismnuisance valueobstructionobstructionismocclusion
Show 55 more words
oppositionpaperasseriepausepreventionprofound idiocyprohibitionprotectionprotectionismprotective tariffrationingred tapered-tapeismred-taperyreinrepressionreprieveresistancerespiterestraintrestraint of traderestrictionretardanceretardmentretrenchmentself-controlsetbacksimple-wittednesssimplemindednesssimplenesssimplicityslack-upslackeningslow upslow-upslowdownslowingslowing downslownessslowupsqueezestaystay of executionstopstoppagestrangleholdstricturesubnormalitysuppressionsuspensiontariff wallthought controltie uptie-uptime lagwait
Noun(8 words)
Adjective(1 words)
swedish lags
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: deceleration, slowdown, slowing, afterthought, amentia.
- Sentence evidence is available for retardation, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "retardation".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "retardation"
Keep "retardation" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "retardation" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "retardation", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "retardation" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
20 entriesagentalterationchangedelaydisabilityhealth conditionholdholdupkinematics conceptmedical termmodificationmusic theory termphysical quantitypostponementprocessstupidity
Showing 16 of 20 words.
More specific
12 entriesCollocations
6 entriesmental retardationphysical retardationpsychomotor retardationrate of retardationretardation factorsignal retardation
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
4 entriesSample sentences
4 total sentences available.
Me and my friends used to feed LSD to this little retarded girl in our neighborhood and we'd lock arms around her and go "nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare!" It actually cured her retardation.
Source: wiktionary
It was on the first day of the new year that the announcement was made, almost simultaneously from three observatories, that the motion of the planet Neptune, the outermost of all the planets that wheel about the sun, had become very erratic. Ogilvy had already called attention to a suspected retardation in its velocity in December. Such a piece of news was scarcely calculated to interest a world the greater portion of whose inhabitants were unaware of the existence of the planet Neptune, nor outside the astronomical profession did the subsequent discovery of a faint remote speck of light in the region of the perturbed planet cause any very great excitement. Scientific people, however, found the intelligence remarkable enough, even before it became known that the new body was rapidly growing larger and brighter, that its motion was quite different from the orderly progress of the planets, and that the deflection of Neptune and its satellite was becoming now of an unprecedented kind.
Source: wiktionary
[...] the effect is automatically to select a braking force which is higher at above 40 m.p.h., in the initial stages of retardation, but is reduced as the speed falls below 40 m.p.h.
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "retardation"?
Closest matches include deceleration, slowdown, slowing, afterthought, amentia.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "retardation"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.