dementia

IPA/dɪˈmenʃə/
KK[dɪmˈɛnʃiə]IPA/dɪˈmenʃə/

dementia — noun

1. a serious brain illness in which memory, thinking, and everyday judgment gradual

1.nounC1
Definition

a serious brain illness in which memory, thinking, and everyday judgment gradually become much worse

Example

The doctor told Tara's family that she had early dementia.

collocation: early dementia

After several tests, Sofie learned that her father had dementia.

pattern: have dementia

Common collocations
  • early dementia
  • develop dementia
  • have dementia
  • live with dementia
  • signs of dementia
Synonyms
  • cognitive decline

    broader and less exact; it can describe milder worsening, not only this diagnosis

  • memory disorder

    an everyday descriptive phrase, but less precise because dementia affects thinking and judgment as well

  • Alzheimer's disease

    a common cause of dementia, not the full umbrella term

Grammar Patterns

have dementia

develop dementia

live with dementia

people with dementia

Usage Note

Usually used in medical or care contexts, often with verbs such as 'have' or 'develop'. It names a diagnosed condition, not ordinary forgetfulness after a busy or tiring day.

Common Mistakes

My grandfather has a dementia.
My grandfather has dementia.
this noun is usually uncountable when naming the condition.
I forgot my bag today because I have dementia.
I forgot my bag today.
'dementia' refers to a serious medical condition, not a normal one-time memory lapse.

Word family

  • demented
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Dementia is the broad medical term for a condition in which memory and thinking become badly damaged and daily life is affected. Alzheimer's disease is one common cause of dementia, so the two are related but not identical. Cognitive decline is wider and softer: it can describe milder worsening before a person meets the level of dementia. Memory loss names only one symptom, not the whole condition, because dementia also affects judgment, language, and daily tasks. Senility is an older everyday word that many doctors avoid because it sounds vague and outdated. In careful modern use, say dementia for the condition and name Alzheimer's disease only when that specific cause is known.

dementia ↗Alzheimer's diseasecognitive declinememory losssenility

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • have dementia
  • develop dementia
  • live with dementia
  • people with dementia

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word comes from Latin dementia, built from de- meaning 'away from' and mens meaning 'mind'. In older English it could refer more generally to madness, but modern medical use narrowed it to the condition involving serious loss of memory and thinking ability.

First known use

1806

1806, in the meaning defined at sense 1