AGEING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ageing mean? 

• AGEING (noun)
  The noun AGEING has 2 senses:

1. acquiring desirable qualities by being left undisturbed for some time

2. the organic process of growing older and showing the effects of increasing age

  Familiarity information: AGEING used as a noun is rare.

• AGEING (adjective)
  The adjective AGEING has 1 sense:

1. growing old

  Familiarity information: AGEING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AGEING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Acquiring desirable qualities by being left undisturbed for some time

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

ageing; aging; ripening

Hypernyms ("ageing" is a kind of...):

biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ageing"):

mellowing (the process of becoming mellow)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The organic process of growing older and showing the effects of increasing age

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

ageing; aging; senescence

Hypernyms ("ageing" is a kind of...):

biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ageing"):

catabiosis (normal aging of cells)

• AGEING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Growing old

Synonyms:

ageing; aging; senescent

Similar:

old ((used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age)

 Context examples 

They resemble the cancer cell of origin that has escaped senescence – the natural process of cell ageing and "death" which concludes a healthy cell life cycle.

(‘Energetic Cancer Cells’ May Be Origin of Cancer Spread, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

While the telomeres of subordinate meerkats remained stable, dominant telomeres shrunk by a third in just 18 months – suggesting accelerated ageing caused by the toils of raising young and fending off rivals.

(Breeder meerkats age faster, but their subordinates still die younger, University of Cambridge)

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have for the first time directly observed granulation patterns on the surface of a star outside the Solar System — the ageing red giant π1 Gruis.

(Giant Bubbles on Red Giant Star’s Surface, ESO)

This hardening, or biomineralisation, is essential for the production of bone, but in arteries it underlies a lot of cardiovascular disease and other diseases associated with ageing like dementia.

(Cause of hardening of the arteries – and potential treatment – identified, University of Cambridge)

Prolonged exposure to UVA radiation is associated with skin ageing and wrinkling, while excessive exposure to UVB causes sunburn and increases the likelihood of skin cancer and eye damage.

(New wristband provides personalised and real-time tracking of UV exposure, University of Granada)

Meanwhile, fish oil intensified oxidation associated with ageing, lowered mitochondrial electron transport chain activity and altered the relative telomere length.

(Long-term consumption of sunflower and fish oils damages the liver, University of Granada)

This process is associated with ageing, but can also be linked to diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease.

(Bone-Like Particles Found Travelling through Human Bloodstream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Inducing cellular regeneration is one of the strategies used to fight diseases associated with cellular ageing.

(Scientists Discover Molecule that Could Reverse Cellular Aging, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The number of people affected is expected to increase in the next few years due to an ageing population.

(Air Pollution Can Trigger Glaucoma, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The researchers found that the DNA of dominant breeders actually shows signs of accelerated ageing – yet they still consistently outlive the non-breeding subordinates in the group.

(Breeder meerkats age faster, but their subordinates still die younger, University of Cambridge)