second childhood

noun

: dotage

Examples of second childhood in a Sentence

an old man going through his second childhood whenever she makes a mistake, Grandmother just reminds everyone she's in her second childhood and children shouldn't be held accountable
Recent Examples on the Web Many artists—Titian and de Kooning alike—have found a second childhood in old age; no other painter ever became younger in his sixties. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2023 Now that prestige art movies are either gross or failing at the box office, EO shows us that film culture is going through a jaded second childhood. Armond White, National Review, 2 Dec. 2022 After decades of relative maturity, the oil market might be about to enter a second childhood. Rochelle Toplensky, WSJ, 23 Sep. 2020 For me, those first travels were like a second childhood. Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'second childhood.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of second childhood was in 1641

Dictionary Entries Near second childhood

Cite this Entry

“Second childhood.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/second%20childhood. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

second childhood

noun
sec·​ond childhood ˌsek-ᵊnd- How to pronounce second childhood (audio)
: dotage
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