nonagenarian
Americanadjective
noun
noun
adjective
Usage
What does nonagenarian mean? A nonagenarian is someone in their 90s (90 to 99 years old), or someone who is 90 years old. Nonagenarian can also be used as an adjective to describe someone in their 90s, as in Our audience is mostly made up of nonagenarian women, or things related to such a person, as in I have entered my nonagenarian years. It’s one of several similar terms used to refer to a person of a certain age, including quadragenarian (40s), quinquagenarian (50s), sexagenarian (60s), septuagenarian (70s), octogenarian (80s), and centenarian (100 or older). Example: Today is my last day as a nonagenarian—tomorrow I turn 100!
Etymology
Origin of nonagenarian
1795–1805; < Latin nōnāgēnāri ( us ) containing ninety, consisting of ninety ( nōnāgēn ( ī ) ninety each + -ārius -ary ) + -an
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 Cuban officials at Thursday’s meeting included Cuba’s interior minister, Lázaro Alvarez, and Raúl Rodríguez Castro, known as “the Crab,” the influential grandson of nonagenarian Cuban revolutionary leader Raúl Castro.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
The study’s authors examined results from about 4,000 brain scans taken from people in the U.S. and U.K., ranging from a newborn baby to a nonagenarian.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
Raoni Metuktire, the nonagenarian leader of the Kayapo people who rose to fame in the 1980s campaigning against deforestation with British musician Sting, is attending COP30 talks in the Amazon city of Belem.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
Their coalition scored a historic victory in 2018, but the alliance began to unravel as the nonagenarian kept shifting the goalposts for handing over power.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025
In that year died the nonagenarian Antonius Stradivarius, the greatest violin-maker the world has ever seen.
From The Lost Stradivarius by John Meade Falkner
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