The word “stupid” is the most common word used in English to refer to a person with less intelligence or IQ. Let us check the role “stupid” plays in the English language.
The word “stupid” can certainly be used as an adjective to describe some activities, thinking, etc., that show a lack of intelligence. The word “stupid” can sometimes be used as a noun, though the authentic noun form of the word “stupid” is “stupidity”. The adverbial form of the word “stupid” is “stupidly”.
Now, we are going to learn the important usages of the word “stupid” as an adjective, noun, and adverb.
When is “stupid” an adjective?
Dull, useless, and foolish are some of the words which can describe the concept of “stupidity”. Let us check when the word “stupid” becomes an adjective.
The word “stupid” becomes an adjective when it comes to any of the following criteria to depict meanings like dull, dull-witted, slow-witted, empty-headed etc.
- The word “stupid” must illustrate the quality of a single or plural noun to be distinct as an adjective.
- The word “stupid” must illustrate the quality of a single or plural pronoun to be distinct as an adjective.
- The word “stupid” must illustrate the quality of a single or plural noun phrase to be distinct as an adjective.
- Alikeness or similarity between nouns or noun equivalents must be shown to have a specific meaning by the adjective “stupid” to mark the same as an adjective.
- Comparison between two or more nouns or noun equivalents must be shown with the word “stupid” to mark the same as an adjective.
- If the superiority of any noun or noun equivalent can be distinguished with the help of the word “stupid,” then the same can also be marked as an adjective.
Is “stupid” a descriptive adjective?
We can call “stupid” a descriptive adjective if it describes any quality or state. Let us check if the adjective “stupid” is a descriptive adjective.
The adjective “stupid” comes under the category of descriptive adjective in English parts of speech as it modifies some specific quality, like: trivial, unintelligent, brainless, ludicrous, dumb, etc. of any noun or noun equivalent.
When “stupid” is a descriptive adjective?
The adjective “stupid” can be counted as a descriptive adjective when it serves any of the below-listed outlines.
- A living being that has a lack of common sense or common intelligence can be described with the adjective “stupid”.
- A living being that is dumb or low in IQ can also be described with the adjective “stupid”.
- A person who is intelligent but did some work that was the result of unreasonable intelligence can also be called “stupid”.
- A person who uses irrelevant words on a topic of discussion can also be called “stupid”.
- A person who has less humour can also be marked as foolish by the descriptive adjective “stupid”.
Now, we will study examples and explanations related to the use of the descriptive adjective “stupid” to make our learning easy and concrete.
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. You are very intelligent in office work but stupid in office politics. | The adjective “stupid” is in use to describe the unreasonable intelligence of the addressed person in office politics. |
| 2. My 2 year old brother is stupid as he always tries to come down the stairs without holding the railings and falls down at the end. | The adjective “stupid” is used to describe the lack of common sense of a toddler, as it always forgets to hold the railings while coming down the stairs. |
| 3. You are stupid enough to carry all the bags and baggage alone without hiring a luggage carrier. | The adjective “stupid” is used to describe the lack of common sense of the addressed person. |
| 4. My best friend is so stupid that she did not even find her pencil box, which I had hidden at the bottom of her school bag. | The adjective “stupid” is used to describe the low level of IQ of the speaker’s best friend as she searched everywhere but never beneath her school bag for the pencil box. |
| 5. That stupid cat is trying to catch the mouse without even getting to know that this is a toy mouse and not an original one. | The adjective “stupid” is used to describe a dumb cat who is trying to catch a toy mouse. |
| 6. Our pet dog is very stupid as he is still trying to eat that plastic bone all the time I have gifted it to him. | The adjective “stupid” is used to describe the low level of IQ of the pet dog who is trying to consume a plastic bone. |
| 7. If you do not know to have at least one vacation after all the hard work that you have done for the family, then you must be stupid. | The adjective “stupid” is used to describe the humor of the addressed person, who does not even want to take a vacation in a year. |
Is “stupid” a noun?
Sometimes we address a person with a specific adjective instead of their full name. Let us check if “stupid” is a noun or not.
The noun form of the word “stupid” is “stupidity,” though we can use “stupid” as a noun to address or call someone. “Hey, stupid, you forgot to take the change after paying the bill,” for example. We must keep in mind that using “stupid” as a noun is not allowed in traditional grammar.
When is “stupidity” a noun?
We can use the word “stupidity” as a noun to mark the names of any dumb, less intelligent act, state, notion, etc. We can use the word “stupid” as a noun when we need to refer to someone with an insulting name, which refers to the low intelligence of the addressed person.
Which type of noun is “stupidity”?
The noun “stupidity” comes under the category of abstract noun in parts of speech. The noun “stupidity” is under the abstract category because we can only feel the lack of intelligence, low IQ, or dumbness of any living being instead of feeling their physical existence.
Here are some examples and explanations related to the use of the noun “stupidity”.
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. Robin has become so astonished by his own stupidity that he has forgotten to even generalize the reason behind it. | The idiocy of Robin has been named after the noun “stupidity”. |
| 2. Teenagers are characterized by their stupidity in attempting inappropriate relationships. | The silliness of teenagers has been named after the noun “stupidity”. |
| 3. The stupidity of the thief is over the belt as he left his identity proof in the house where he committed the theft. | The lunacy of the thief has been named after the noun “stupidity”. |
| 4. To watch social media instead of doing meditation to calm our nerves is the ultimate stupidity. | The imbecility to watch social media instead of doing meditation to calm nerves has been named after the noun “stupidity”. |
| 5. We have decided to send you to a good teacher to teach you English as we have become helpless with your stupidity to learn the respective lesson. | The incapacity of the addressed person to learn English lessons has been named after the noun “stupidity”. |
Is “stupid” an adverb?
The addition of prefixes and suffixes is a common notion to create an adverbial form. Let us check whether “stupid” is an adverb or not.
The word “stupid” can not be used as an adverb as the adverbial form of the word “stupid” is “stupidly”. We mainly use this adverb to describe an act or state that has a lack of intelligence or common sense.
When is “stupidly” an adverb?
We can use the adverb “stupidly” when we need to describe any activity or state of incidents that is the result of a low level of intelligence or lack of common sense.
Which type of adverb is “stupidly”?
The adverb “stupidly” can be idealized as the adverb of manner, as “stupidly” is a procedure or methodology through which an activity or state of events happens. The adverb “stupidly” mainly conveys meanings like ‘idiotically’, ‘foolishly’, ‘absurdly’, etc.
The below-listed examples and explanations regarding the usage of the adverb “stupidly” will help you to understand the topic clearly.
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. You must not look at your result stupidly as you know very well why you have received such a low grade. | The adverb “stupidly” is in use to modify the activity ‘looking’ while conveying the dumbness of the addressed person. |
| 2. Pijush was gazing at the last bus stupidly because he had missed the bus due to his inability to identify the correct bus number. | The adverb “stupidly” is used to modify the activity “gazing” while conveying the lack of intelligence of Pijush. |
| 3. Renu always eats food from Mina’s tiffin box, and Renu just observes stupidly. | The adverb “stupidly” is used to modify the activity “observing” while conveying the helplessness of Renu. |
| 4. My brother is trying to eat the biscuit stupidly as he can not chew that biscuit due to a lack of teeth. | The adverb “stupidly” is in use to modify the activity ‘trying’ while conveying the lack of common sense of the speaker’s brother. |
| 5. I understand that you are not dumb, but you presented the proposal stupidly to make me a fool. | The adverb “stupidly” is used to modify the activity ‘presenting’ while conveying the stubbornness of the addressed person. |
Conclusion
Now we can make note of the words which are completely opposite of the word “stupid”. Words which convey the opposite meaning of the word “stupid” are prudent, intelligent, cognizant, reasonable, wise, etc.
Hey! I am Arpita Bose Roy. My qualifications are M.A. in English with B. Ed. in both general education and special education. I have 2 years of experience as a “language analyst” at IIT Kharagpur and 4 years of experience as an “Academic Content Developer” at IIT Kharagpur. Currently, I am working as an academic writer at Lambdageeks.