senescence

/səˈnɛsns/

Do your stiff knees make it harder and harder to get out of that cozy chair? It may be that senescence is at work, meaning you’re getting older.

Senescence is a fancy way to describe the process of aging. If you don’t want to admit straight out that old age made you lose that tango contest, blame it on senescence — it sounds mysterious and exciting. Senescence is sometimes used in a scientific context to describe cells in your body that can no longer grow and divide, which can affect your ability to dance like you did when you were 20.

Definitions of senescence

1. noun

   the property characteristic of old age
   synonyms: agedness

   type of:

   oldness

   the opposite of youngness
2. noun

   the organic process of growing older and showing the effects of increasing age
   synonyms: ageing, aging

   types:

   catabiosis

   normal aging of cells

   type of:

   biological process, organic process

   a process occurring in living organisms