1. the period of life when a person is old and weak, especially when showing a decline in mental ability
Usage: often implies senility or mental deterioration

Examples

• In his dotage, the once-brilliant professor could barely remember his students’ names.
• She worried that her father’s forgetfulness was a sign of approaching dotage.
• The king’s dotage made him vulnerable to manipulation by his advisors.
• Despite his dotage, he still insisted on driving himself to the store.
• The family had to make difficult decisions about care during their grandmother’s dotage.
• His dotage was marked by confusion and an inability to recognize familiar faces.