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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example 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.
—
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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John also told us his elderly neighbors were without service.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
10 Feb. 2025
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The program has since grown to include nearly 3,000 elderly listeners attending to more than 200,000 people all over Zimbabwe, and is now expanding to vulnerable communities in nine countries, including the United States.—
David Morgan,
CBS News,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff: The high school senior, Timothy and Victoria's youngest, is pulled between following the life path of his older sister and brother while deciding his major life decision: Whether to go to Duke or the University of North Carolina.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
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Because that’s not how my experience or any of the older players’ experience with the Giants was.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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As depicted in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, José, attending Southern Illinois University on a swimming scholarship, met blond beauty queen Mary Louise Andersen, a lively communications major two years his senior who everyone called Kitty.—
Roy Trakin,
The Hollywood Reporter,
8 Feb. 2025
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Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near senile
Cite this Entry
“Senile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/senile. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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