When Did Stupid Become a Bad Word?

Young boy wearing a green shirt

You step on your kid’s Hot Wheels lying in the middle of the living room floor and nearly trip and fall. Frustrated, you say to your son, “Will you please pick up your stupid cars before someone gets hurt?” Despite the tone of your voice indicating that you’re angry, he replies, “Daddy, why did you say a bad word?” What the heck?

Or perhaps you’re talking to another adult and refer to something as stupid, only to see your young, impressionable child’s mouth drop open. Or maybe you can’t open a pickle jar, hand it over to someone else, and call it a “stupid jar.” No big deal, right? Every day, we’re faced with stupid things. But calling these things stupid isn’t the same as dropping the “F” bomb in front of a room full of 1st graders.

Seriously, when did “stupid” become a bad word?

According to the dictionary, “stupid” is an adjective meaning “lacking common sense or intelligence.” Its synonyms include obtuse, dense, dull, and fatuous. The dictionary doesn’t refer to it as a superlative adjective that requires exclamation points – and it doesn’t classify it as slang or a curse word. Yet, today, with political correctness at an all-time high, “stupid” has fallen in line with other words that are considered “not nice” to say. And that’s just stupid, especially considering that it can easily and innocently replace other words that could cause more harm if said aloud in front of young kids.

For one thing, it’s important for our children to recognize when something is stupid. At some point in their lives, they need to understand that something they did lacked intelligence or common sense. If we continue down the path of telling them they simply “made a bad choice” or “could have done better,” we’re avoiding calling a spade a spade. Instead of telling our teenager they did something stupid, we cover it up with softer words to spare their feelings, avoiding the reality that their actions were just plain stupid. What good does that do? Saying, “You made a bad choice, honey,” certainly doesn’t carry the same weight of consequence as saying, “That was a really stupid thing to do,” does it?

Certainly, none of us want to raise kids who run around calling everyone and everything stupid. But kids shouldn’t have their mouths washed out or lose respect for their parents simply because the word “stupid” slipped from their lips. It also isn’t considered good parenting to call our children stupid, lest we be blamed for damaging their self-esteem. However, some of their actions and decisions really are stupid. It’s truly the best word to describe them. If we called them fatuous, they wouldn’t have a clue what we were talking about. It wasn’t a bad choice; it was stupid – by definition, meaning their decision lacked common sense or intelligence. Stupid is as stupid does.

The point is, there are many things in this world that are just plain stupid, including the modern belief that “stupid” is some outrageous, self-inhibiting word that should never be uttered. When used properly, “stupid” is a mild word that helps people express their emotions. For instance, saying things like “the stupid lawnmower is broken again,” “the stupid neighbor let their dog poop in my yard,” or “the stupid teacher messed up when she graded my test” all point to something lacking common sense or intelligence. None of these things are meant to intentionally harm, hurt, or bully anyone.

The reality is that bad language is a part of this world. You can hardly turn on the television, even at primetime, without hearing words or innuendos that are certainly more problematic than “stupid.” We grew up in a world where “stupid” appeared on shows like Leave It to Beaver, and you couldn’t watch an episode of The Road Runner without thinking that the coyote was stupid. Yet, by today’s standards, the “S” word is considered foul language and merits a good mouth-washing with soap.

Would you rather see an 8-year-old who can identify “stupid” when he or she sees it, and who may use “stupid” as an adjective to describe a situation, or an 8-year-old who gets away with stupid things day in and day out because the adults in their life are too afraid to speak the truth?

At the end of the day, there are far more serious things to worry about than “stupid.” In my book, “stupid” is still a rather benign word compared to the language that’s commonly used today.

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3 Responses

  1. Misappropriation of plural pronouns to refer to singular subjects, and Valley Girl uptalking are also stupid abominations of our language! Welcome to post-SJW MillennIal-run edgumukashun. 🙄

  2. Well said Steph! I will even add that a single word like stupid if replaced by a whole sentence trying to express stupidity is not only stupid, but also loses the impact that the single word has. A cat is a cat or shall we soon call it a fury mammals that is often a pet and does meow? Stupid is a word in any English dictionary and was never classified as a foul word like shit, merde, scheise, or merda. Let’s still call a cat a cat and a dog a dog. This euphemisms nowadays not only do NOT express correctly what a single word can but also certainly do not decrease the impact of the action in question and by the end does NOT make anyone feel better. I have a handicapped sticker on my car. I hate people who are telling me that I have a physical impediment. No! I am handicapped.

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