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)
• French: sénilité (fr)
• German: Senilität (de) f
• Greek: γεροντική άνοια 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)