senility

noun se·nil·i·ty \ si-ˈni-lə-tē also se- \

Updated on: 2 Apr 2018

Definition of senility

: the quality or state of being senile : the physical and mental decline associated with old age; especially : the deterioration of cognitive functioning associated with old age

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Examples of senility in a Sentence

with his increasing senility, Granddad is beginning to have more and more senior moments

Recent Examples of senility from the Web

People pointed to Magic Johnson, Dave DeBusschere, Spencer Haywood and others – who had remarkable NBA careers and wondered if senility had finally caught up with SOS.

— mick mccabe, Detroit Free Press, "Class C champ Detroit Edison's Brandon Neely lives with memory of gun shot," 25 Mar. 2018
Trump and his allies are correct that Reagan’s critics accused him of senility in office.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Why Republicans Love Dumb Presidents," 10 Jan. 2018
Your 18-year-old cat could have health problems resulting in pain or could have a cognitive dysfunction, like senility or dementia.

— chicagotribune.com, "To drive or fly pets on a long-distance move," 24 May 2017
André’s ego is too large and impregnable to be deflated by senility.

— ben brantley, New York Times, "Review: ‘The Father’ Examines the Lion’s Mind in Winter," 14 Apr. 2016
I was inclined to dismiss his fractious behavior as the first sign of senility.

— jeffrey frank, The New Yorker, "Ike, Ford, and a Lost Voice in Supreme Court Nominations," 16 Feb. 2016
Few ideas in biology have been more fixed than the doctrine that people are born with a finite number of brain cells and go downhill from there, neuronwise, all the way to senility.

— Esquire, "More of The Esquire 21," 29 Jan. 2007

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