Antonyms for cretin


Grammar : Noun
Spell : kreet-n or, esp. British, kret-n
Phonetic Transcription : ˈkrit n or, esp. British, ˈkrɛt n


Definition of cretin

Origin :
  • 1779, from French crétin (18c.), from Alpine dialect crestin, "a dwarfed and deformed idiot" of a type formerly found in families in the Alpine lands, a condition caused by a congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones, from Vulgar Latin *christianus "a Christian," a generic term for "anyone," but often with a sense of "poor fellow." Related: Cretinism (1801).
  • noun obnoxious stupid person
Example sentences :
  • On the Rigi his musings on the magnificence of the view are checked by the presence of a cretin.
  • Extract from : « Mountain Meditations » by L. Lind-af-Hageby
  • “It was rather a chouse to shoot a cretin, though,” said another, in chaff.
  • Extract from : « Julian Home » by Dean Frederic W. Farrar
  • Only twelve kinds of a cretin would have gone on when faced with anything like this.
  • Extract from : « Call Him Savage » by John Pollard
  • Of course, many people have goitre who are not cretins, but there is no cretin who has not goitre.
  • Extract from : « How to Live » by Irving Fisher and Eugene Fisk
  • Every crank's whim, every cretin's philosophy, is fired at him first of all.
  • Extract from : « Shandygaff » by Christopher Morley
  • Another author mentions a cretin who could tell exactly the birthdays and death-days of the inhabitants of his town for a decade.
  • Extract from : « Criminal Psychology » by Hans Gross
  • Something of the goître and cretin influence seems to settle on my spirits sometimes, on the lower ground.
  • Extract from : « The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete » by John Forster
  • It is very commonly accompanied by idiocy; and, in fact, the Cretin is one of the most distressing objects that can be seen.
  • Extract from : « Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 107, November 15, 1851 » by Various
  • The poetical whim of Cretin, a French poet, brought into fashion punning or equivocal rhymes.
  • Extract from : « Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 (of 3) » by Isaac D'Israeli
  • The cretin, whose eyes caught a glimpse of the cake, laughed, and began to try to reach out her hand to take it.
  • Extract from : « Rollo in Geneva » by Jacob Abbott

Synonyms for cretin

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019