as in lurching
to move forward while swaying from side to side
was doddering down the walk outside the nursing home
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in senile
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of doddering
Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2025
As many Democrats in Congress have struggled to respond to the fire hose of disruption—at times seeming downright doddering in response to the White House’s potential upending of the constitutional order—the 53-year-old Schatz has helped his party find their footing.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 10 Feb. 2025
All this time, a smiling, doddering old man in a tuxedo had been ambling about, tending to guests and waiting on tables.
—Youmna Melhem Chamieh, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Their journey of friendship and rivalry is the emotional core of a story that is startlingly political, a leap made effectively by Jeff Goldblum’s dodgy, smarmy and doddering Wizard, who’s ably assisted by the darkly dangerous aide de camp Michelle Yeoh.
—Steven Gaydos, Variety, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for doddering
Verb
Even that sounds dismissive like Flynn is some doddering old man.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2025
As many Democrats in Congress have struggled to respond to the fire hose of disruption—at times seeming downright doddering in response to the White House’s potential upending of the constitutional order—the 53-year-old Schatz has helped his party find their footing.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 10 Feb. 2025
All this time, a smiling, doddering old man in a tuxedo had been ambling about, tending to guests and waiting on tables.
—Youmna Melhem Chamieh, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Their journey of friendship and rivalry is the emotional core of a story that is startlingly political, a leap made effectively by Jeff Goldblum’s dodgy, smarmy and doddering Wizard, who’s ably assisted by the darkly dangerous aide de camp Michelle Yeoh.
—Steven Gaydos, Variety, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for doddering
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doddering
Verb
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But while the new movie dawdles on its way to Toxie’s origins, then rushes toward a finale with a lurching rhythm that verges on calculated ineptitude, its spirit never feels inauthentic.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
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The result, nearly eight months into his second term, is an economy that appears to be lurching into a new era of state control.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Back on the domestic front, Jeanine has reason to believe that her husband, Paul (Mark O’Brien), is having an affair with her senile mother’s caregiver.—
Michael Rechtshaffen,
The Hollywood Reporter,
9 Sep. 2023
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Don Quixote himself is too often a senile dodderer; Daniel Rubin was creaky in body but youthfully quixotic in spirit.—
Jeffrey Gantz,
BostonGlobe.com,
17 Mar. 2023
Verb
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Dish was losing money, staggering under $21 billion in debt and hemorrhaging pay TV subscribers.—
Monica Hunter-Hart,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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An instrument that should be reserved for unfair foreign competition is staggering the world economy (and ours) with no apparent logic other than malice or mischief.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The Cudahy couple purchased the building in South Milwaukee primarily for the living space in back to take care of an elderly uncle.—
Erik S. Hanley,
jsonline.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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For millions of elderly or disabled people, these were daunting or impossible options.—
Eli Hager,
ProPublica,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The Tampa Bay Rays, for instance, don’t want to return to decrepit Tropicana Field — even if the caved-in roof is repaired.—
Dan Schlossberg,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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Perhaps something good can come out of the city’s baffling 2016 decision to acquire the decrepit building without any seeming awareness that, in 2014, a consultant for its previous owner had called it fundamentally obsolete and cited asbestos contamination.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 July 2025
Verb
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The three actors were filming a lighthearted scene, shuffling excitedly between a hot sauna and cold plunge, when Reeves’ foot caught on some flooring.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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The film essentially takes place entirely within an under-20-minute timeline, showing the same events from a shuffling deck of points of view.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Turning 44 in November, she's considered a geriatric elephant.—
Hannah Kirby,
jsonline.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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One boss is a beyond geriatric sniper who can be killed well before the main encounter during various instances or left to die of natural causes by changing the in-game clock a few weeks ahead.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The story unfolds in Agra during the 1990s, weaving together romantic elements with comedic beats and supernatural scares.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
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Naming the bags is my way of weaving culture directly into design.—
Ugonnaora Owoh,
Essence,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Doddering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doddering. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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