Spaz
Pronunciation
- IPA: /spæz/
Alternative forms
Origin
From spastic.
Full definition of spaz
Noun
spaz
(plural spazzes)- (slang, pejorative, offensive) A stupid person.
- (slang, pejorative, offensive) A hyperactive person.
- (slang, pejorative, offensive) An incompetent person.
- Tiger Woods, 2006“I was so in control from tee to green, the best I’ve played for years… But as soon as I got on the green I was a spaz.â€
- (slang, pejorative, offensive) A tantrum, a fit.
Usage notes
In addition to being insulting to the target, the term itself is offensive to some due to associations with disability (especially cerebral palsy in the UK); compare retard, tard.
Offensiveness differs between the UK and the US: it is quite offensive in the UK, while generally mildly offensive or inoffensive in the US.
It is most widely used as a playground term of abuse, both of people with disabilities and children generally. Among adults, particularly in the United States, it can be seen as gentle ribbing or self-deprecation, as in the Tiger Woods quote, but can cause offense, and is recommended against in public.
The s-word, by Damon Rose, BBC News, 12 April 2006
Verb
- (slang, pejorative, offensive) To have a tantrum or fit.
- (slang, offensive) To malfunction, go on the fritz.
Usage notes
The sense “to malfunction†is the only sense that is not insulting to the object, and is cognate to spasm (compare seize up), but still may cause offense due to connections with spastic.