senility

English

Alternative forms

• sinility

Etymology

From senile +‎ -ity.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səˈnɪlɪti/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪlɪti

Noun

senility (countable and uncountable, plural senilities)

1. (chiefly uncountable) The bodily and mental deterioration associated with old age: Synonym of senescence.

   Antonyms: juvenescence, juvenility

   Near-synonym: second childhood

2. (chiefly uncountable) The losing of memory and reason due to senescence.

   Antonym: juvenility

   He was entering his years of senility and not liking it a bit.

3. (countable, archaic) An elderly, senile person.

   Antonym: juvenile

   • 1934 May, Hearst's International combined with Cosmopolitan, page 117:

     There was no need for George Playford to talk as if they were doddering senilities.

Related terms

• senile (adj)

Translations

the losing of memory and reason

Breton: kabac'hded (br) Bulgarian: сенилност (bg) f (senilnost), изкуфялост (bg) f (izkufjalost) Catalan: senilitat f Chinese: 痴呆 (zh) (chidai) Dutch: seniliteit (nl) f Finnish: vanhuudenhöperyys (fi), seniiliys (fi) French: sénilité (fr) German: Senilität (de) f Greek: γεροντική άνοια (el) f (gerontikí ánoia) Japanese: 耄碌 (ja) (mōroku) Macedonian: изветреаност f (izvetreanost), излапеност f (izlapenost), сенилност f (senilnost) Plautdietsch: Ellaschwakheit f Polish: starczość (pl) f Portuguese: senilidade (pt) f Romanian: senilitate (ro) f Russian: ста́рость (ru) f (stárostʹ), дря́хлость (ru) f (drjáxlostʹ) Spanish: senilidad (es) f Swedish: senilitet (sv) c Tausug: kalīanan

an elderly, senile person

Bulgarian: старец (bg) m (starec)