aged

aged, old, elderly, superannuated when applied to persons mean far advanced in years.

Aged implies extreme old age with signs of feebleness or, sometimes, senility

{

the aged creature came, shuffling along with ivory- headed wand— Keats

}

Old stresses the years of one’s life, but in itself carries no connotations of marked decline

{

a man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered— Shak.

}

Elderly may imply no more than that the prime of life has been passed

{

when you see me again I shall be an old man—that was a slip, I meant to say elderly— J. R. Lowell

}

Superannuated indicates that one has been retired or pensioned because of having reached a certain age (varying in different callings)

{

superannuated teachers

}

{

superannuated judges

}

Sometimes the word implies merely that one has passed the years of usefulness and with this denotation it is applied to things as well as to persons.

Analogous words: infirm, feeble, decrepit (see WEAK)

Antonyms: youthful

Contrasted words: juvenile, puerile, boyish, virgin, virginal, maiden (see YOUTHFUL)