Octogenarian Meaning
/ˌɑktəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSynonym of eightysomething: a person between 80 and 89 years old.
adjOf or related to eightysomethings.
Sentence Examples
Tom is an octogenarian.
The active octogenarian runs five miles every morning.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ celebrated her eighty-fifth birthday with a big family party.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ still walked two miles every morning and credited his longevity to a simple diet.
Word Origin & History
From Latin octōgēnārius + -an (suffix forming adjectives and representative nouns), either directly or via French octogénaire, from Latin octōgēnus (“80 each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from octōgintā (“eight tens, 80”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Finsbury Park station, one of the most important L.N.E.R. suburban junctions, is now an octogenarian."
— 1941 October, “Notes and News: Finsbury Park Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 466:
"To replace logarithmic tables with natural tables required some time. This seems like a modern age, yet I am not an octogenarian and I can remember the dying gasp of the logarithmic table as the standard method of computation. I have seen the desk calculator become a necessary instrument for every scientist who is doing quantitative work."
— 1951, IBM Corp., Proceedings, Computation Seminar, page 13:
"First up for recriminations may be President Biden. What if the octogenarian had stuck to his original suggestion that he’d be a “bridge” president – i.e., a one-termer – and announced he wouldn’t run for a second term early last year, allowing for a proper primary competition among the next generation of Democratic leaders?"
— 2024 November 6, Linda Feldmann, “What Trump’s historic victory says about America”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ celebrated her eighty-fifth birthday with a big family party.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ still walked two miles every morning and credited his longevity to a simple diet.