as in elderly
showing a loss of mental ability (such as memory) in old age
a senile man in his eighties Her mother is becoming senile.
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Recent Examples of senile
The kids can’t spell and the world leaders are senile.
—
Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
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
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
But Benjamin Smith, a professor of Latin American history at the University of Warwick in Britain, said the tweet could further fuel ongoing rumors that López Obrador, 69, is senile or otherwise unfit to govern.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for senile
Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
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
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
But Benjamin Smith, a professor of Latin American history at the University of Warwick in Britain, said the tweet could further fuel ongoing rumors that López Obrador, 69, is senile or otherwise unfit to govern.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for senile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for senile
Adjective
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That first night, Andrej’s roommates were a man in a coma and an elderly French woman in a diaper and boots (no pants), who marched around her bed singing like a chanteuse.—
Elisabeth Rosenthal,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
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The entire neighborhood, which includes Afghan immigrant Rahim (Elham Ehsas) and his elderly parents, has been evacuated to nearby Hyde Park, and the cops, led by the efficient but slightly overwhelmed Chief Superintendent Zuzana (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), have set up a security cordon.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The 31-year-old faced five batters and allowed all five to reach base.—
James O'Connell,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2026
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Since the Iran war started, officials say, some counterterrorism specialists who had been reassigned to immigration have returned to their old roles, creating a whiplash that can disrupt investigations and analysis.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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One of the area’s top two-way threats last spring, the senior left-hander/first baseman has been good enough to still be an anchor in the Blackhawks’ batting order and atop the pitching rotation.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Apr. 2026
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That would be Cameron Foster, the longtime NFL agent who last year signed a one-year deal with UW to serve as its athletic department’s senior director of contracts and cap management.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Senile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/senile. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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