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“retard”
retard
1. To make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); to hinder or to impede.
2. A slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.
3. To cause to move more slowly or to operate at a slower rate: "This medication could retard your heart rate."
4. To slow the growth or development of something: "The brain damage may retard your child's language development."
5. To lose velocity; to move more slowly.
6. Slang: a reference to a person of subnormal intelligence or someone who is considered to be foolish or socially inept.
2. A slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.
3. To cause to move more slowly or to operate at a slower rate: "This medication could retard your heart rate."
4. To slow the growth or development of something: "The brain damage may retard your child's language development."
5. To lose velocity; to move more slowly.
6. Slang: a reference to a person of subnormal intelligence or someone who is considered to be foolish or socially inept.
retard, retard, retarred
retard (ri TAHRD) (verb)
To cause to move or to proceed slowly; to delay or to impede: The brakes on the wagon served to retard the descent of the wagon down the mountain trail.
retard (REE tahrd") (noun)
1. Used as a disparaging term for a mentally retarded person: Many old educational textbooks described a slow learning person as a retard.
3. A slowing down or a hindering of progress; a delay: Being ill for several weeks was unfortunate as it caused a retard in Bill's academic progression towards his degree.
More recently, the acceptable term for retard is "developmentally delayed".
2. A person who is considered to be foolish or socially inept: The child on the playground was rude, calling a boy a retard because he could not run very fast.3. A slowing down or a hindering of progress; a delay: Being ill for several weeks was unfortunate as it caused a retard in Bill's academic progression towards his degree.
retarred (ri TAHRD) (verb)
1. To recover with a dark, oily, viscid mixture of hydrocarbons: The stretch of road was worn and needed to be retarred so cars could use it safely.
2. To re-smear someone with a distillation of resinous woods, coal, etc. and then to cover with feathers as a punishment: You would think that having been tarred and feathered last week, Lou would learn his lesson; however, he was retarred today because he tried to steal a loaf of bread.
2. To re-smear someone with a distillation of resinous woods, coal, etc. and then to cover with feathers as a punishment: You would think that having been tarred and feathered last week, Lou would learn his lesson; however, he was retarred today because he tried to steal a loaf of bread.
The road had been retarred and the pavement was soft and served to retard the progression of Bruce's car as he was trying to drive home. He was upset and muttered something about the engineer in charge being a retard.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Confusing Words Clarified: Group R; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(page 4)