midlife crisis

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noun

a period of psychological stress occurring in middle age, thought to be triggered by a physical, occupational, or domestic event, as menopause, diminution of physical prowess, job loss, or departure of children from the home.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of midlife crisis

First recorded in 1970–75

Words nearby midlife crisis

Midlands, midleg, Mid-Lent Sunday, mid-level, midlife, midlife crisis, midline, midlist, Midlothian, mid-mashie, midmorning

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use midlife crisis in a sentence

I feel as if I am in a mini midlife crisis of discovering my own power and questioning whether I have been squandering it to stay at the lower ambition level of my husband.
Carolyn Hax: One wants to be active, one prefers watching TV. How do they reconcile that?|Carolyn Hax|August 25, 2021|Washington Post
Many Gen Xers are facing their midlife crisis amid an ongoing crisis.
The pandemic’s negative—and possibly long-term—toll on Gen X|Jessica Davies|June 21, 2021|Digiday
This just feels like a crossroads, or a classic midlife crisis — but it’s not a fixed or different state of being.
Carolyn Hax: We’re all living ‘someone else’s life’ unless we rethink our choices sometimes|Carolyn Hax|May 20, 2021|Washington Post
Maria Cosway, Jefferson’s mistress for six weeks, was a Renaissance woman who knew six languages, played the harp and was a gifted painter — at 27, the definition of a muse for a 43-year-old man going through a midlife crisis.
Scandalous Love Affairs That Changed History|Nick Fouriezos|April 14, 2021|Ozy

When Gates finally stepped down from day-to-day operations in 2008, the company was in a midlife crisis — still making huge amounts of money off Windows but being overtaken in emerging areas of computing by younger rivals Apple, Google and Facebook.
With Bezos out as Amazon CEO, Zuckerberg is the last man standing|Elizabeth Dwoskin|February 3, 2021|Washington Post
Then we cut to Ted, mid-midlife crisis, who abruptly decides to cut the jets while piloting Sunkist clients over NorCal.
Mad Men’s Game-Changing Midseason Finale, “Waterloo”: One Door Closes, Another Opens|Marlow Stern|May 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ted Thompson is concerned with the “if not before,” which is to say the midlife crisis.
Ted Thompson’s Debut Novel Features A 1 Percenter As Its Hero|Stefan Beck|May 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, however, the VMAs are facing a bit of a midlife crisis.
VMAs 2013: MTV’s Awards Show, Once Crazy, Is Getting Old|Kevin Fallon|August 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Burning money trying to become “cooler” ends up looking something like the metropolitan equivalent to a midlife crisis.
Richard Florida Concedes the Limits of the Creative Class|Joel Kotkin|March 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As I continue to bring up the term “midlife crisis,” I can almost hear Reynolds cringe through the phone.
Midlife Crisis? Get Bangs!|Abby Haglage|February 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for midlife crisis

midlife crisis

/ (ˈmɪdˌlaɪf) /

noun

a crisis that may be experienced in middle age involving frustration, panic, and feelings of pointlessness, sometimes resulting in radical and often ill-advised changes of lifestyle

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

midlife crisis

Origin of midlife crisis

Words nearby midlife crisis

Words related to midlife crisis

How to use midlife crisis in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for midlife crisis