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.
“Things were set up to portray him in the worst light possible … he’s been portrayed as a bigot. He’s been portrayed as doddering and demented, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Posner said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
The interview is utterly anodyne, a doddering exchange of pleasantries and carefully selected humanizing anecdotes.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2025
Whereas he once presented himself as a vain peacock, Clay here comes off as spacey and a bit doddering, swaddled in scarves and wide sunglasses and outfits Susie Essman might wear on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 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
I get up, sore all over, and start doddering barefoot for home.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
