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.
With characteristic savagery, Wolff portrayed Murdoch as a doddering nonagenarian unable to parse the changes in the cable business and unwilling to accept that American conservatism’s center of gravity had shifted away from him.
From Slate ● May 15, 2024
Some aides, according to Axios, wish Mr. Biden would more often show this side of him to counter concerns that the 80-year-old is too doddering for office amid frequent oral gaffes.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
Attention must be paid to the core audience that has stuck it out and been filling these doddering old venues with their seasoned laughter and empathy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
Let Silicon Valley chase a sleek future of frictionless rectangles and orbs: Brian’s creation, Charles, is a towering, homemade shambles with gray hair and a doddering shuffle that gives the impression of a retired sheepherder.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 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.
