Standard Lemma guide

nonagenarian

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˌnɑnəd͡ʒɪˈnɛriən/
  • General-American: /ˌnoʊnəd͡ʒɪˈnɛriən/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌnɒnəd͡ʒɪˈnɛːrɪən/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌnəʊnəd͡ʒɪˈnɛːrɪən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or related to ninetysomethings.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Synonym of ninetysomething: a person between 90 and 99 years old.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ninetysomething

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

being from 90 to 99 years old

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the nonagenarian inhabitants of the nursing home

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

someone whose age is in the nineties

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: oldster, old person, senior citizen, golden ager

History

Etymology

From Latin nōnāgēnārius (“containing ninety”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives and representative nouns), either directly or via French nonagénaire, from nōnāgēnī (“ninety each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from nōnāginta (“nine tens, ninety”).

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Hungarian: kilencvenes (éveiben járó) — related to ninetysomething year olds
  • Hungarian: kilencvenvalahány éves — related to ninetysomething year olds
  • Hungarian: kilencvenedik születésnapját betöltött — related to ninetysomething year olds
  • Icelandic: níræður — related to ninetysomething year olds
  • Old Norse: nírœðr — related to ninetysomething year olds