doddering

[ dod-er-ing ]
See synonyms for doddering on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. shaky or trembling, as from old age; tottering: a doddering old man.

Origin of doddering

1
First recorded in 1735–45; dodder1 + -ing2
  • Also dod·der·y [dod-uh-ree]. /ˈdɒd ə ri/.

Words Nearby doddering

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use doddering in a sentence

  • A living, doddering Lee was far less useful to the pitchfork crowd than a hanged, virile Lee would have been.

    More South-Bashing! | Michael Tomasky | May 28, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • The doddering quality of the entire Reagan presidency certainly gave rise to that notion.

    Loving France Again | Eric Alterman | April 14, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Verena was a poor old widow, doddering and shiftless: Charity suspected that she came for her keep.

    Summer | Edith Wharton
  • If, on the other hand, he has gone beyond that age we see only a doddering literary future for him.

    Seeing Things at Night | Heywood Broun
  • In a second I would have exchanged my youth for the position of this doddering old nobleman who spat blood into a napkin.

    The O'Ruddy | Stephen Crane
  • The old man did nothing unbecoming to his caste, but he stood doddering and longed to die in place of that beautiful youth.

    What Will People Say? | Rupert Hughes
  • Nor is she the woman to make me forget my manhood and pride, to tumble me down doddering at her feet and gibbering like an ape.

British Dictionary definitions for doddering

doddering

/ (ˈdɒdərɪŋ) /


adjective
  1. shaky, feeble, or infirm, esp from old age

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012