Meaning & use
elderly
Last updated
Being old or in the later years of life, often used as a polite way to refer to older people.
See it in a sentence
The community center offers free exercise classes for elderly residents.
An elderly man fed pigeons in the park every morning.
A note on using this word
'Elderly' is generally considered more respectful than 'old' when referring to people, though 'older adults' is often preferred in clinical contexts.
Words with a similar meaning
agedsenior
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
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