senile

[see-nahyl, -nil, sen-ahyl] /ˈsi naɪl, -nɪl, ˈsɛn aɪl/
adjective
1.
showing a decline or deterioration of physical strength or mental functioning, especially short-term memory and alertness, as a result of old age or disease.
2.
of or belonging to old age or aged persons; gerontological; geriatric.
3.
Physical Geography. (of topographical features) having been reduced by erosion to a featureless plain that stands everywhere at base level.
Compare peneplain.
noun
4.
a senile person.
Origin
1655-65; < Latin senīlis old, equivalent to sen(ex) old man (akin to senior) + -īlis -ile
Related forms
unsenile, adjective
Examples from the web for senile
  • The quaint idea of comparing reading a book in bed to having a computer in bed with you is charmingly senile.
  • The sad senile fool would rather burn down his own country than to step down.
  • senile dementia has been around for as long as people have had the means of recording it.
  • However, a form of secondary amyloidosis called senile amyloidosis involves the heart and blood vessels.
  • Then he was on an even keel for fifteen or sixteen years, and then he became senile.
  • senile pruritus often refers to the dry skin of old age.
British Dictionary definitions for senile

senile

/ˈsiːnaɪl/
adjective
1.
of, relating to, or characteristic of old age
2.
mentally or physically weak or infirm on account of old age
3.
(of land forms or rivers) at an advanced stage in the cycle of erosion See old (sense 18)
Derived Forms
senilely, adverb
senility (sɪˈnɪlɪtɪ) noun
Word Origin
C17: from Latin senīlis, from senex an old man
Word Origin and History for senile
adj.

1660s, "suited to old age," from French sénile (16c.), from Latin senilis "of old age," from senex (genitive senis) "old, old man," from PIE root *sen- "old" (cf. Sanskrit sanah "old;" Avestan hana- "old;" Old Persian hanata- "old age, lapse of time;" Armenian hin "old;" Greek enos "old, of last year;" Lithuanian senas "old," senis "an old man;" Gothic sineigs "old" (used only of persons), sinistra "elder, senior;" Old Norse sina "dry standing grass from the previous year;" Old Irish sen, Old Welsh hen "old"). Meaning "weak or infirm from age" is first attested 1848.

senile in Medicine

senile se·nile (sē'nīl', sěn'īl')
adj.

  1. Relating to, characteristic of, or resulting from old age.

  2. Exhibiting the symptoms of senility, as impaired memory or the inability to perform certain mental tasks.