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subnormal

below normal

adjective soob-nohr-MAHL Rare

Usage Note

Subnormal is used in technical and medical Spanish to describe values, readings, or performance that fall below a standard threshold (e.g. temperatura subnormal). When applied to people it is considered highly offensive in contemporary usage — a register warning learners should heed. Modern medical Spanish prefers discapacidad intelectual for intellectual disability. The word is invariable for gender (el nivel subnormal / la temperatura subnormal).

Examples

"El laboratorio registró una temperatura subnormal."

Natural Translation

The laboratory recorded a below-normal temperature.

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