Meaning & use
septuagenarian
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableformal
A person whose age is anywhere from seventy to seventy-nine.
Grammar: Refers to a person: a septuagenarian, two septuagenarians.
Patterns
- a septuagenarian who ...
The marathon's oldest finisher was a septuagenarian from Ohio.
Our choir has several septuagenarians who never miss a rehearsal.
Her uncle, a lively septuagenarian, still cycles to the market every morning.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Being seventy to seventy-nine years old, or relating to someone of that age.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a septuagenarian author.
Patterns
- a septuagenarian something
The septuagenarian author published her best novel last year.
He joined a septuagenarian hiking club after he retired.
The septuagenarian couple celebrated fifty years of marriage.
Word forms
| plural | septuagenarians |
|---|
Common combinations
- a spry septuagenarian
- The spry septuagenarian climbed the stairs two at a time.
- a septuagenarian author
- A septuagenarian author won the prize this spring.
- septuagenarian parents
- Many people now care for septuagenarian parents while still working.
- a fit septuagenarian
- The doctor described him as a fit septuagenarian with the heart of a man younger.
Synonyms and how they differ
- seventy-something
- Seventy-something is a casual phrase for the same age range, while septuagenarian is more formal and often used in writing.
- senior citizen
- Senior citizen is much broader and covers anyone of retirement age, not specifically people in their seventies.
Word family
- octogenarian noun
- a person in their eighties
- nonagenarian noun
- a person in their nineties
- sexagenarian noun
- a person in their sixties
- centenarian noun
- a person who is a hundred or older
Commonly confused: septuagenarian or octogenarian?
septuagenarian vs octogenarian
An octogenarian is in their eighties, one decade older than a septuagenarian.
Practice
Grandpa Leo turned seventy-four last month, so he is now officially a ___.
Choose one answer.
Septuagenarian covers ages seventy to seventy-nine. A sexagenarian is in their sixties, and an octogenarian is in their eighties.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “septuagenarian”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.