senescent
Past one's prime
Senescent describes something in the process of aging or declining.
The word appears most often in biology and medicine: senescent cells, senescent tissues.
A senescent organism or system is past its prime, deteriorating toward the end of its functional life.
The noun form is senescence.
Relating to elderly care
hoary · venerable · superannuated · time-worn · aging · greying · wrinkled · stooped
Process of declining quality
- degenerationProgressive loss of function
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- decrepitudeWornness from age
- atrophyWasting from disuse
enfeeblement · frailty · waning · weakening · entropy · devolution · senility · obsolescence
Losing turgor and drooping
- witheringDrying and declining
- yellowingBecoming pale gold-brown
- desiccatedThoroughly dehydrated
- shriveledContracted from moisture loss
sere · drooping · dried · blighted · defoliated · dormant · deciduous · autumnal
Subject to death
- finiteHaving definite bounds
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- fleetingPassing very quickly
impermanent · terminal · end-stage · life cycle · passing · dying · expiring · fading
Programmed cell death
- telomereProtective chromosome terminus
- cellularComposed of small units
- programmedSet with instructions
- oxidativeInvolving electron removal
mitochondrial · DNA damage · cell cycle · autophagy · biomarker · fibroblast · collagen · stem cell
geriatric
Relating to elderly care
old · hoary · venerable · superannuated · time-worn · aging · greying · wrinkled · stooped · retired
deterioration
Process of declining quality
- degenerationProgressive loss of function
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- decrepitudeWornness from age
atrophy · enfeeblement · frailty · waning · weakening · entropy · devolution · senility · obsolescence · diminishment
wilting
Losing turgor and drooping
- witheringDrying and declining
- yellowingBecoming pale gold-brown
- desiccatedThoroughly dehydrated
shriveled · sere · drooping · dried · blighted · defoliated · dormant · deciduous · autumnal · chlorosis
mortal
Subject to death
fleeting · impermanent · terminal · end-stage · life cycle · passing · dying · expiring · fading · final
apoptosis
Programmed cell death
- telomereProtective chromosome terminus
- cellularComposed of small units
- programmedSet with instructions
oxidative · mitochondrial · DNA damage · cell cycle · autophagy · biomarker · fibroblast · collagen · stem cell · chromosome
senescentyoung
Not yet mature
youthful · juvenile · adolescent · newborn · nascent
senescentproliferating
Increasing rapidly in quantity
regenerative · mitotic · dividing · growing · vital