What noun or adjective would one give to a person that is intolerant of stupidity? A person that becomes annoyed, angry, or of very short temper when conversing or interacting with people of a lower intelligence?

For example:

The man is very xyzxyz; his son can't do multiplication very well.


She is a(n) xyzxyz. She gets very frustrated when people forget things.

I'm looking almost for a scientific/medical/psychological term. One that would fall into the same kind of group as words like haemophiliac, masochist, nihilist, etc.

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    A mentalist ....... heh, heh. – Dan Bron Jun 17 '16 at 11:59
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    Rather than a single-word noun or adjective, I'd just say He doesn't suffer fools gladly. – FumbleFingers Jun 17 '16 at 12:15
  • That also works, but I am after a single term, almost for classification. For instance, I would put these people into a category of "xyzxyz-s" and not "People that so not suffer fools gladly". – user171162 Jun 17 '16 at 12:32
  • If the person at issue has mastered the art of using “DUH” or eye-rolling to express their frustration, they probably fancy him/herself to be an intellectual, which of course makes them a pseudo-intellectual or at least someone with strong pseudo-intellectual tendencies. – Papa Poule Jun 17 '16 at 17:12
  • Your question is pretty vague. There is a difference between specific mental incapacities of some sort, low IQ, memory problems, and simply being "clueless". Which do you mean? – Hot Licks Jun 17 '16 at 21:33

While it is neither a noun nor an adjective, the phrase does not suffer fools gladly has the meaning you want.

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Maybe unforgiving - not allowing for mistakes, carelessness, or weakness

She is unforgiving. She gets very angry when people forget things.

But, possibly a perfectionist - a person who demands perfection of himself, herself, or others.

She was a perfectionist and not tolerant of the short-comings of others.


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I do not know a word that fits exactly what you're looking for. A (strange?) suggestion might be to coin a word from a person or character who is best-known for this trait. I would suggest a "Kingsfield" after John Houseman's character in "The Paper Chase".

I also like "dumbophobe".

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    Do you have any reference that can support your answer? – user140086 Jun 17 '16 at 16:14
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    @Rathony - You expect a reference for "I do not know"???? – Hot Licks Jun 17 '16 at 21:30
  • Dumbophobe is actually catchy..haha! You can say a person who hates dumbness or dumb or stupid people has Dumbophobia... Also seeking for the correct term though. – dude22 Jul 20 '17 at 2:10
  • Intolerance is not the same as phobia or hatred. – Alex Sarmiento Jul 20 '17 at 6:21


dictionary.com definition:

  1. a person with intellectual or cultural pretensions; intellectual snob.

Oxford dictionary definition:

A person [of scholarly or rarefied taste]

rareified - Distant from the lives and concerns of ordinary people

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  • I think your answer is the closest among all the suggested words. – user140086 Jun 17 '16 at 19:45
  • This is pretty close. The Oxford definition is less what I'm after but the dictionary.com one is pretty much it. – user171162 Jun 20 '16 at 10:21
  • @OlieAyre words change meaning slightly depending on context, so don't worry about slight discrepancies between dictionary definitions. – marcellothearcane Jul 20 '17 at 7:25

One can use disdainful here.

Disdain means

to treat someone with contempt because they do not know as much as you do

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    But this is hardly specific to intelligence, right? – Dan Bron Jun 17 '16 at 12:02
  • This I would argue goes well for intelligence, IQ in general. What do you feel? – Darshan Chaudhary Jun 17 '16 at 12:03
  • I feel one can be disdainful for any number of reasons, and the OP could change his question to ask about "height" instead of "IQ", and your answer wouldn't change (which tells me it's not really an answer to this question, but a more general one, which wasn't asked). – Dan Bron Jun 17 '16 at 12:04
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    Disdainful is too broad. What the op wants is someone with aversion to stupidity. Think of it as allergic to a particular thing. He would be more of a stickler who resents stupidity. – vickyace Jun 17 '16 at 12:11
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    @DarshanChaudhary Think elitist suffers the same issue: not specific to intelligence. One can be elitist about wealth, for example, or music choices, or fashion, or circumstances of birth. Etc. – Dan Bron Jun 17 '16 at 12:18

I like the idea of coining the word using a known figure to represent it (like "Sadist" being after De Sade).

So therefore, I put forth a "Winchester", after the character on "MASH".

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That would be a person with low tolerance for mediocrity. Thus, a person who strives for excellence. If there's such a word, that would be excellentist, but the word perfectionist seems close. Although, the gap between perfection, excellence and mediocrity can be equally big. I doubt there's such a word since most people have low tolerance for mediocrity relative to the social and cultural standards, so there's no use for such a word.

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How about overbearing?

"The man is very overbearing; his son can't do multiplication very well.

I can tell you from first-hand experience, this word captures how I treated my son when it came to math: I was overbearing ... and I'm not proud of it.

From the The Free Dictionary:

overbearing :

  • domineering in manner; arrogant

  • overwhelming in power or significance; predominant

  • domineering or dictatorial in manner or action

  • domineering; dictatorial; rudely arrogant

  • expecting unquestioning obedience

  • having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy

Other applicable words include domineering and predominant.

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  • This is a very nice word, but it's less a forceful (and definitely not arrogant) intolerance, but more a kind of tick, like one would be "triggered" in some sense by acts of stupidity, leading to reduced patience. A personal intolerance (not of one's self, but a feeling kept to one's self) as opposed to deliberate and forceful action against stupidity. – user171162 Sep 18 '16 at 20:52
  • And you down voted this answer because? – Richard Kayser Sep 18 '16 at 22:22
  • @OlieAyre Thanks for the comment. A few thoughts. Several of the definitions mention arrogance, one even rudely arrogant. I consider being overbearing a personality trait, not a behavior triggered by a specific event. One can be habitually overbearing, i.e., habitually domineering, arrogant, dictatorial, superior, and disdainful of others, especially those considered to be lower, including those of lower intelligence. – Richard Kayser Sep 18 '16 at 22:29
  • I didn't down-vote it. However I will up-vote it as it's the best answer so far. – user171162 Sep 21 '16 at 16:46