# dementia

/dɪˈmɛnʃiə/ (US) · /dɪmˈɛnʃɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/dementia
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. medical condition

noun · CEFR B2

a condition where the brain stops working properly, making it hard to remember things, think clearly, or speak.

For teachers: a progressive decline in cognitive function due to brain damage or disease, affecting memory, attention, and problem-solving. Uncountable in general usage; often used with 'vascular' or 'senile' as modifiers.

- The family noticed the early signs of dementia when he started forgetting where he lived.
- Recent clinical studies suggest that early intervention can significantly improve the quality of life for patients diagnosed with vascular dementia.

Usage: Often used as an uncountable noun, though specific types are referred to as 'dementias'.

### 2. madness

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary

an old-fashioned word for being crazy or losing your mind.

For teachers: a state of madness or insanity. This sense is largely historical and rarely appears in modern clinical or legal contexts.

- In the old story, the king fell into a deep dementia after losing his crown.
- The poet described a world descending into a collective dementia, where reason was abandoned for chaos.

Teaching tip: This sense is archaic; in modern English, 'dementia' is almost exclusively a medical term for cognitive decline in the elderly.

## Examples

- Early signs of dementia often include forgetting names and losing track of time.
- The family decided to hire a specialized nurse to help manage the daily challenges of their father's dementia.
- While dementia is frequently associated with Alzheimer's disease, it is actually a broad term covering various neurological conditions that result in significant cognitive decline.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.