SENILE Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

senile

adjective

Definition of senile

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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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of senile Billy Chapman is again introduced as a child (Logan Sawyer) visiting his senile grandpa in a rest home. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Dec. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for senile

Recent Examples of Synonyms for senile

Adjective

Tamang said her family was able to rush to higher ground, carrying her elderly grandmother with them, but their home was washed away.

— Diaa Hadid, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026
The second half of the novel focuses on Alice, an elderly woman who suffers from dementia.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of elderly

Adjective

Nuclear Children follows 18-year-old Isla Sparrow who, after the death of her father in a submarine accident, hopes to escape her grieving family and flee to university.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026
But in older adults, the relationship between body weight and health may be more complicated than a number on the scale.

— Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of old

Adjective

There isn’t room on a roster to list all the positions where North Chicago senior Amari Earl could play in a single game.

— Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
Iran is determined to smother any internal unrest Rezaei’s appointment came in a recent set of decrees by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, that formally set Iran’s new senior leadership, including top military posts.

— Lee Keath, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026