second childhood

American  

noun

1. senility; dotage.

---

second childhood British  

noun

1. dotage; senility (esp in the phrases in his, her, etc, second childhood )

---

second childhood Idioms  

1. The dotage of old age; also, childlike playfulness in an adult. For example, Grandpa needs full-time care, now that he's in his second childhood, or Since he retired and started learning to fly, he's been in his second childhood. Depending on the context, this term may allude either to such problems of old age as losing one's mental or physical capacities or to delighting in new pleasures in a childlike fashion. [c. 1900]

---

Etymology

Origin of second childhood

First recorded in 1900–05

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

second childhood

The narrative’s simplicity places us in the mind of a bemused child, or of someone approaching second childhood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

Nothing can stop André's skid into second childhood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2020

My dad has recently become part of the family of Velour – in the drag community people talk about “chosen family” – which was part of my second childhood growing up as a drag queen.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 29, 2017

This is why it was called a second childhood.

From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2016

A kind of second childhood falls on so many men.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• infirmity

---