elderly
Americanadjective
-
of advanced age; old.
discounts for elderly patrons.
-
of or relating to persons in later life.
noun
adjective
Usage
Referring to any group using the formula the elderly , the disabled is nowadays felt to be inappropriate because it glosses over people's individuality and perpetuates stereotypes. It is preferable to use phrases such as disabled people and so forth. Many people also prefer to talk about older rather than elderly people for similar reasons
Other Word Forms
- elderliness noun
- nonelderly noun
- unelderly adjective
Etymology
Origin of elderly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her son Christoph Gretzmacher is worried about how much longer his elderly mother can cope with the extreme conditions of the desert.
From BBC
Rahman, an electrical engineer who would shed no tears for Khamenei, was driving his elderly father — and avid Khamenei supporter — to a mosque where he would be participating in a mourning event.
From Los Angeles Times
One elderly man in Tehran said thinking about Khamenei being gone felt strange.
Boothroyd made this move for an elderly client of hers, who was beneficiary of an old irrevocable trust.
From Barron's
The found that a brand could risk seeming like a bully if it appropriated a comment from someone who seems vulnerable, like an elderly person.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
