geriatric

[jer-ee-a-trik, jeer-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR geriatric ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to geriatrics, old age, or aged persons.

noun

Slang. an old person.

Origin of geriatric

1925–30; < Greek gér(ōn) old man + iatric

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for geriatric

gray, ancient, tired, elderly, decrepit, venerable, mature, aged, senior, pensioner, retiree, veteran, fossil, versed, debilitated, exhausted, experienced, grizzled, hoary, impaired

Examples from the Web for geriatric

Contemporary Examples of geriatric

Thanks to the basic dynamics of American politics, the GOP—as white and geriatric as it is—sits well-positioned for success.
The GOP Failed to Reform...and It Doesn't Matter
Jamelle Bouie
March 18, 2014
But they are right to haul—or wheel—a geriatric SS man present at a notorious, if largely forgotten, massacre into the courtroom.
There Should Be No Statute of Limitations on Prosecuting War Crimes
Michael Moynihan
January 13, 2014
Right after Girls, she booked an episode of the HBO series Getting On, playing a frail woman in a geriatric ward.
June Squibb, the Curse-Happy Elderly Mom In ‘Nebraska,’ Delivers the Year’s Funniest Turn
Marlow Stern
November 15, 2013
In spite of their image as bland, geriatric pols, the party elders gave the LDP a sense political heft.
Japan’s Liberal Democrats Win Huge, But Stability May Prove Elusive
Takashi Yokota
December 17, 2012
Even now, some clinicians are unforgivably timid around the topic with their geriatric patients.
The Truth Behind Elder Rape
Noelle Howey
September 15, 2012

British Dictionary definitions for geriatric

geriatric

adjective

of or relating to geriatric medicine or to older people

offensive (of people or machines) old, obsolescent, worn out, or useless

noun

old-fashioned, offensive an elderly person

informal, offensive an older person considered as one who may be disregarded as senile or unable to look after his or her own best interests

Word Origin for geriatric

C20: from Greek gēras old age + iatric

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for geriatric

adj.

1909, formed in English from Greek geras, geros "old age" (from PIE root *gere- "to grow old" (see gerontology) + iatrikos "of a physician," from iatros (see -iatric).

geriatric in Medicine

geriatric

[jĕr′ē-ăt′rĭk]

adj.

Of or relating to geriatrics.

Of or relating to old age or to the aging process.

n.

An old person.