retarded

adj

1. Delayed; delayed in development, hindered; impeded.

   “This kind of plant is usually of a retarded growth.”

   “The last zone, lying beyond the Ch‘ang-pai mountains, was in special isolation and culturally as retarded as regions much farther north.”

   “HGH, which was originally developed to assist children with retarded growth, is believed to be especially popular with sprinters.”

2. (dated, offensive, sometimes)Having mental retardation; mentally deficient or underdeveloped.

   “Experts in the field say there are now at least 200,000 retarded people over 60 in the United States.”

   “One day the order of things begins to unravel. First, the doctor, on horseback, is tripped up by an invisible wire and his injuries put him in the hospital for months. Then several children, including the son of the Baron and the retarded child of the doctor’s mistress, are severely beaten. Later, the Baron’s barn is set on fire.”

   “Shriver started the Special Olympics Games in 1968 to foster fitness and self-esteem for those with mental retardation and advocated in Washington for her cause well into her eighties. The event has grown to include 190 nations. Her concern for the mentally handicapped was attributed to her relationship with older sister Rosemary, who was said to have been mildly retarded and spent the majority of her life in a long-term care facility after a lobotomy.”

   “As one of hundreds of examples, here is how Emily and Charles work to stimulate their profoundly retarded newborn, and the kind of detail Solomon is consistently able to draw from his subjects:[…]”

   “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.”

3. (dated, offensive, sometimes)Specifically, having an IQ below 70.
4. (colloquial, derogatory, offensive)Extremely stupid; obtuse

   “Looking at Jack, Gabbie said, "What?" "That's the Troll Bridge." She groaned at the pun. "That's retarded."”

   “I've got a terrific sign in front of my house that keeps intruders out: Retarded Pit Bull High on Angel Dust. No one's come over the wall yet. Except a couple of retarded guys who were high on angel dust.”

   “If it sounds like a bad script that a retarded child would write, it’s because it is. Yet, anti-Zionists will aggressively explain to you why this insanity makes perfect sense.”

5. Designating a parameter of an electromagnetic field which is adjusted to account for the finite speed of radiation.

verb

1. (form-of, participle, past)simple past and past participle of retard

   “We know cases where obscurity of style has retarded the recognition of really great writers—but obscurity of style is not a virtue, and they were great in spite of it.”