doddering
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of doddering
Explanation
Doddering means "physically or mentally impaired due to old age," like a doddering person who can no longer live alone without assistance from family members or a visiting nurse. The adjective doddering comes from the Middle English word daderen "to quake, tremble." That shakiness, in movement and even in thoughts, is one quality of doddering people. It is important to be patient with those who are doddering, because like the word sounds, they are trying to still be mobile, still be part of the world around them, even if they feel more shaky as they get older.
Vocabulary lists containing doddering
The Odyssey
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"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
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Copper Sun
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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.
The interview is utterly anodyne, a doddering exchange of pleasantries and carefully selected humanizing anecdotes.
From Slate • Dec. 18, 2025
The majority of Carvey's recent "Saturday Night Live" appearances showed off his doddering and bewildered take on Joe Biden.
From Salon • Nov. 24, 2024
Phil Hartman as both the doddering old man and the mastermind of the Iran-Contra plan is perfect.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2024
It is still, depending on your preferences, a doddering throwback or an oasis of old-school rationality and calm.
From New York Times • May 5, 2022
The Marquess of Tilbury’s doddering hand rose to his pocket handkerchief.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
