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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of senile
Don Quixote himself is too often a senile dodderer; Daniel Rubin was creaky in body but youthfully quixotic in spirit.
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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
In the Kremlin’s propaganda, Biden is now invariably portrayed as senile, sleepy and out of touch.
—David E. Sanger, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Feb. 2023
Trump regularly claimed during the 2020 campaign that Biden was senile.
—Dallas News, 9 Feb. 2022
See all Example Sentences for senile 
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
In the Kremlin’s propaganda, Biden is now invariably portrayed as senile, sleepy and out of touch.
—David E. Sanger, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Feb. 2023
Trump regularly claimed during the 2020 campaign that Biden was senile.
—Dallas News, 9 Feb. 2022
See all Example Sentences for senile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for senile
Adjective
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People who are elderly, sick, or disabled may not be capable of flight.Sarah E. Parkinson, Foreign Affairs, 11 Nov. 2024
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The flash-forward also features Lori Loughlin as an elderly version of her character, Becky, complete with an exaggeratedly wide prosthetic derriere.John Russell, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The show skips across the decades, dramatizing the interviews an older Dolours (Maxine Peake) did for a Boston College oral history of the Troubles, which were taped with the promise that they would be released only after participants’ deaths.Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
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By contrast, the prospect of citizenships and alliances—and perhaps conquests or crusades—structured around the opinions, beliefs, and subjective identities of ordinary people in times of peace would require a new (or very old) conception of empire.Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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If Texas makes a championship run this football season, senior center Jake Majors might set a school record.Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
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Derek Blasberg, Samantha Boardman, Margo M. Nederlander, and Lizzie Tisch chaired the event—and ABC News senior correspondent and Citymeals board member Deborah Roberts acted as emcee.David Graver, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near senile
Cite this Entry
“Senile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/senile. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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