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
In one story, Earn’s seemingly routine trip to church with Gloria, Jeanie, and his senile grandfather (Bob Banks) goes pear-shaped when Gloria abruptly drives off with her dad, leaving behind Earn and a bewildered Jeanie, who has recently been their father’s caretaker.
—
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2022
Why do humans develop senile ovaries by age 30?
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 20 Aug. 2022
Trump regularly claimed during the 2020 campaign that Biden was senile.
—Dallas News, 9 Feb. 2022
The sky broken by the bare oaks and elms of New Prospect was full of moist promise, a pair of frontal systems grayly colluding to deliver a white Christmas, when Russ Hildebrandt made his morning rounds among the homes of bedridden and senile parishioners in his Plymouth Fury wagon.
—Wyatt Mason, WSJ, 6 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for senile
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2022
Why do humans develop senile ovaries by age 30?
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 20 Aug. 2022
Trump regularly claimed during the 2020 campaign that Biden was senile.
—Dallas News, 9 Feb. 2022
The sky broken by the bare oaks and elms of New Prospect was full of moist promise, a pair of frontal systems grayly colluding to deliver a white Christmas, when Russ Hildebrandt made his morning rounds among the homes of bedridden and senile parishioners in his Plymouth Fury wagon.
—Wyatt Mason, WSJ, 6 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for senile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for senile
Adjective
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The Cudahy couple purchased the building in South Milwaukee primarily for the living space in back to take care of an elderly uncle.—
Erik S. Hanley,
jsonline.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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For millions of elderly or disabled people, these were daunting or impossible options.—
Eli Hager,
ProPublica,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Smith replied that private schools must submit renewal packets every year before they are approved to continue participation in the accounts program, and that the agency compares the new tuition rates against the older rates.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Sep. 2025
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The reversal marks just one example of how Trump is rewriting Republicans’ decades-old playbook on countering Beijing’s influence in the United States and abroad.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The state’s senior senator, Jack Reed, is 75 and running for reelection next year.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Shaffi, a senior data architect at Amazon Web Services, is widely recognized for designing secure, large scale data infrastructures that power global enterprises.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Senile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/senile. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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