doddering

American  

[dod-er-ing] / ˈdɒd ər ɪŋ /

Also doddery

adjective

1. shaky or trembling, as from old age; tottering.

   a doddering old man.

---

doddering British  

/ ˈdɒdərɪŋ /

adjective

1. shaky, feeble, or infirm, esp from old age

---

Etymology

Origin of doddering

First recorded in 1735–45; dodder ¹ + -ing ²

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.

Example Sentences

The interview is utterly anodyne, a doddering exchange of pleasantries and carefully selected humanizing anecdotes.

From Slate • Dec. 18, 2025

Offstage, he was a doddering, stammering dad shuffling around rooms bustling with yapping tiny dogs urinating everywhere.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 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

Whether Arkel is wise or a doddering old fool is a matter of question, which the veteran Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto answers with a loud affirmation of the latter.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2023

I thought of the doddering old war veterans who sat along the gallery in front of the cotton gin and spat their tobacco and bored everybody with the same stories they’d been telling for decades.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly