retardation
English
Etymology
retard + -ation
Noun
retardation (countable and uncountable, plural retardations)
- The act of retarding or delaying; hindrance.
- (acoustics) The distance by which one wave is behind another.
- (music) The act of diminishing the rate of speed.
- (telegraphy) A decrease in the speed of telegraph signalling.
- The extent to which anything is retarded; the result of any retarding or delay; mental, social, or physical slowness.
- (colloquial, derogatory, offensive) Extreme stupidity.
- That which retards; an obstacle; an obstruction.
- (physics) Deceleration; reduction in the magnitude of velocity.
- (music) A suspension which resolves upwards.
Related terms
- retard
- retardance
- retardant
- retardate
- retardative
- retarded
- retarder
- retardive
References
- retardation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- retardation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.