retard, when used as a verb is to refer to delay or hold back in terms of progress or development, or to be delayed. as a noun, it is considered a dated, offensive and pejorative term when used to refer to a person who has a mental disability. it was previously used as a genuine term in medical contexts, though has since been succeeded with the term "intellectual disability" in many laws and documents throughout countries in the world. it is also used as an informal term to refer to a foolish or stupid person, though this informal usage has been viewed by many as controversial, mainly due to confusion to the words' history as a medical term.