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dementive

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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By surface analysis, dementia +‎ -ive.

Adjective

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dementive

  1. Causing, characterized by, or characteristic of dementia; senile.
    • 2008, Ewa Pietka, ‎Jacek Kawa, Information Technologies in Biomedicine, page 157:
      It is essential to define if the brain atrophy detected in the patient is caused by normal aging or dementive disease or overlapping of both processes.
    • 2012, F. Gerstenbrand, ‎Werner Poewe, ‎G. Stern, Clinical Experiences with Budipine in Parkinson Therapy:
      The incidence of dementive changes reported in the literature varies between 14% (Hoehn and Yahr 1967) and 81% (Martin et al. 1973).
    • 2021, Mala Kapur Shankardass, Older Women and Well-Being, page 352:
      Community can play a vigilant role in reporting abuse of dementive elderlies at the hand of family members.
  2. (dated) Having or describing the worst, most debilitating state of a mental disorder.
    • 1870, J.S. Stallard, Pauper Lunatics and their treatment, etc., page 14:
      In nearly every case of madness there comes a period when all danger of injury to any one totally disappears, and dementive fatuity or general paralysis ensues.
    • 1907, William M. Butler, Transactions of the Homoeopathic Medical Society of the State of New York:
      There is the dementive form and the depressed form, and it has been claimed by a good many writers that paresis is changing its type, from the fact that we find often, in cases where they have delusions of grandeur, that they are not so extravagant as they formerly were.
    • 1973, Benjamin B. Wolman, Call No Man Normal, page 223:
      Dementive psychopaths feel sorry for themselves and resent "unfair treatment" in jail, although they have no sympathy for anyone else.
    • 1981, M. V. Korkina, ‎E. A. Kossova, Psychiatric Ward Practice: A Handbook for Medical Students, page 66:
      The dementive form is now most common (70 per cent of all cases).

Derived terms

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