lifespans
Birth-to-death stretches
Lifespans is the plural of lifespan—the length of time an organism lives or is expected to live.
Different species have characteristic lifespans: Tortoises have longer lifespans than dogs.
The word extends to how long things remain functional or relevant: the lifespans of smartphones, the lifespans of political movements.
Gradual functional decline with age
- geriatricsMedicine for the elderly
- elderlyAdvanced in age
- retirementLeaving the workforce permanently
- longevityDuration of existence
graying · wisdom · experience · centenarian · octogenarian · nonagenarian · healthspan · vitality
Ten-year periods
- centuriesHundred-year periods
- millenniaThousand-year periods
- yearsTwelve-month spans
- monthsYear's twelve parts
longevity · brevity · timespan · length · fleeting · enduring · extended · truncated
Cessation of life
- finiteHaving definite bounds
- transienceBrevity of existence
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- mortalSubject to death
demise · expiration · terminal · end · passing · perishable · fragility · inevitability
Coming into the world
- growthIncrease in size
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- pubertySexual development stage
metamorphosis · stages · phases · infancy · childhood · adolescence · adulthood · milestones
senescence
Gradual functional decline with age
- geriatricsMedicine for the elderly
- elderlyAdvanced in age
- retirementLeaving the workforce permanently
longevity · graying · wisdom · experience · centenarian · octogenarian · nonagenarian · healthspan · vitality · decline
decades
Ten-year periods
months · longevity · brevity · timespan · length · fleeting · enduring · extended · truncated · average
death
Cessation of life
- finiteHaving definite bounds
- transienceBrevity of existence
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
mortal · demise · expiration · terminal · end · passing · perishable · fragility · inevitability · curtailed
birth
Coming into the world
- growthIncrease in size
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- developmentProgress toward maturity
puberty · metamorphosis · stages · phases · infancy · childhood · adolescence · adulthood · milestones · transitions
mayfly
Short-lived winged insect
mouse · redwood · Methuselah · bowhead · lobster · tardigrade · housefly · oak · human · parrot
lifespansmoments
Short spans of time
instants · split seconds · flashes · blinks · nanoseconds
lifespansdeaths
Permanent cessations of life
extinctions · ends · demises · terminations · expirations