senile

See also: sénile

English

Etymology

1660s; borrowed from French sénile, from Middle French senile, from Old French senile, from Latin senīlis (“of or pertaining to old age”), from senex (“old man”), from Gaulish and Proto-Indo-European *sénos (“old”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiːnaɪl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈsinaɪl/
• Rhymes: -aɪl

Adjective

senile (comparative more senile, superlative most senile)

1. Of, or relating to old age.
   • 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:

     Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies.

2. (often offensive) Exhibiting the deterioration in mind and body often accompanying old age; doddering.
   • 2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 183:

     Her mother was senile, but they called it dementia now.

Antonyms

• juvenile

Derived terms

• nonsenile
• presenile
• senile dementia
• senile gangrene
• senilely
• senility
• senilize

 

Related terms

• senate
• senator
• senescence
• senior
• seniority

Translations

of, or relating to old age

• Breton: kabac'h (br)
• Bulgarian: старчески (bg) (starčeski)
• Catalan: senil
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 年老的

• Danish: alderdoms-
• Dutch: ouderdoms-
• Finnish: vanhuuden (fi)
• Greek: γεροντικός (el) m (gerontikós)
• Higaonon: binongaw
• Irish: seanaoise
• Japanese: 老年の (ja) (rōnen no)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: senīlis
• Manx: shenn-eashagh
• Polish: starczy (pl)
• Portuguese: senil (pt)
• Russian: ста́рый (ru) (stáryj), ста́рческий (ru) (stárčeskij), престаре́лый (ru) (prestarélyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: aosda, aosmhor
• Spanish: senil (es)
• Telugu: ముసలితనపు (musalitanapu)
• Welsh: henaint

exhibiting the deterioration in mind

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: старэ́чы (staréčy)
• Breton: kabac'h (br)
• Bulgarian: сенилен (bg) m (senilen), изкуфял (bg) m (izkufjal)
• Catalan: senil
• Czech: senilní (cs)
• Danish: senil
• Dutch: seniel (nl)
• Esperanto: olda (eo)
• Finnish: seniili (fi), vanhuudenhöperö (fi)
• French: sénile (fr)
• German: senil (de)
• Greek: ξεμωραμένος (el) m (xemoraménos)
• Hungarian: szenilis (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ilocano: bumaket, kabaw
• Indonesian: pikun (id)
• Irish: siabhránach
• Italian: barbogio m, senile (it), rimbambito (it)
• Macedonian: изветреан m (izvetrean), излапен m (izlapen), сенилен m (senilen)
• Polish: zniedołężniały
• Portuguese: senil (pt)
• Russian: дря́хлый (ru) (drjáxlyj), сени́льный (ru) (senílʹnyj), ста́рческий (ru) (stárčeskij)
• Scots: doitit
• Spanish: senil (es), chocho (es), chocheante, gagá (es)
• Swedish: senil (sv)
• Tagalog: ulianin, ulyanin
• Turkish: bunak (tr)
• Welsh: heneiddiol

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} pikun (id)

Noun

senile (plural seniles)

1. (dated, medicine) A person who is senile.
   • 1979, Oscar J. Kaplan, Psychopathology of Aging, page 54:

     Seniles differ markedly in their early adult intelligence level, and in their social, vocational, and educational histories.

Further reading

• “senile”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “senile”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Inslee, enisle, ensile, lienes, silene

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

senile

1. inflection of senil:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

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Italian

Etymology

From Latin senīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seˈni.le/
• Rhymes: -ile
• Hyphenation: se‧nì‧le

Adjective

senile (plural senili)

1. senile

Derived terms

• senilità
• senilmente

Anagrams

• lesine

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Latin

Adjective

(deprecated template usage) senīle

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of senīlis

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Old French

Etymology

From Latin senīlis.

Adjective

senile m (oblique and nominative feminine singular senile)

1. relating to old age

Declension

Declension of senile

Number	Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	Subject	seniles	senile	senile
	Oblique	senile	senile	senile
Plural	Subject	senile	seniles	senile
	Oblique	seniles	seniles	senile

Descendants

• French: sénile
  • → English: senile