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I want a description of topic elderly |
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Answer» Elderly applies to the stage of LIFE well past middle age. When used as a noun in referring to older persons in general, it is relatively NEUTRAL, denoting a group of people whose common characteristic is advanced age: policy issues of special interest to the elderly. However, when used as an adjective in describing a particular person, elderly has a range of connotations that go beyond the denotation of chronological age. On the one hand it can suggest DIGNITY, and its somewhat formal tone may express respect: sat next to an elderly gentleman at the concert.On the other hand it can IMPLY frailty or diminished capacity, in which case it may sound condescending:was stuck in traffic behind an elderly driver. REGARDLESS of other connotations, a phrase such as the elderly couple in the second row suggests greater age than if the couple were described as older. |
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