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senile

adjective se·nile \ ˈsē-ˌnī(-ə)l also ˈse- \
Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of senile

1 :of, relating to, exhibiting, or characteristic of old age
  • senile weakness
; especially :exhibiting a loss of cognitive abilities (such as memory) associated with old age
2 :approaching the end of a geological cycle of erosion
—

senilely

play \ˈsē-ˌnī(-ə)l-lē also ˈse-\ adverb

See senile defined for English-language learners

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Examples of senile in a Sentence

  1. Every time I got a government job, I always felt obligated to tell the authorities that I had this mother who had probably been a Communist. It was an annoying piece of baggage. Then eventually she became senile and forgot about politics and actually became very benign. —Larissa MacFarquhar,  New Yorker,  10 Dec. 2001
  2. There appears to be little common ground between those who see the paintings [Willem de Kooning's late works] in question as a sublime achievement, a late style comparable to the cut-paper masterpieces of the aging Matisse, and those who describe them as the senile doodlings of a once great artist whose reputation is being damaged for the sake of commercial exploitation. —Calvin Tomkins,  New Yorker,  10 Feb. 1997
  3. Franco himself, during the final months of his life, had become a senile, quaking octogenarian. —John A. Crow,  Spain: The Root and the Flower,  (1963) 1985

  4. a senile man in his eighties

  5. Her mother is becoming senile.

Recent Examples of senile from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'senile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of senile

Latin senilis, from sen-, senex old, old man

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

SENILE Defined for English Language Learners

senile

adjective

Definition of senile for English Language Learners

  • : showing a loss of mental ability (such as memory) in old age

Medical Dictionary

senile

adjective se·nile \ ˈsēn-ˌīl also ˈsen- \

medical Definition of senile

1 :of, relating to, exhibiting, or characteristic of old age
  • senile weakness
; especially :exhibiting a loss of cognitive abilities (as memory) associated with old age
2 :being a cell that cannot undergo mitosis and is in the stage of declining functional capacities prior to the time of death
  • senile red blood cells

Learn More about senile

  1. See words that rhyme with senile Spanish Central: Translation of senile Nglish: Translation of senile for Spanish speakers

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Examples: senile in a Sentence