dementia
part of speech
noun (dementia — uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
An illness of the brain, most often in old people, that slowly makes it hard to remember things, think clearly, find words and look after yourself. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life and lessons about older people, a grandparent with dementia may forget names, repeat questions or get confused about time and place. It is not their fault and not catching. Children can help by being patient, speaking calmly and kindly, looking at old photos together and not arguing. Alzheimer's disease is the most common kind. Phrases: «living with dementia», «a person with dementia».
examples
- Grandpa has dementia, so he sometimes forgets my name. tree →
- Dementia is an illness, not just being forgetful. tree →
- Be patient if someone with dementia asks the same question again. tree →
- Looking at old photos can help a person with dementia feel happy. tree →
- Dementia cannot be caught from another person. tree →
- Doctors and carers help people living with dementia. tree →
note
Uncountable: «dementia», not «a dementia». Myth: dementia is not a normal part of getting old; most old people do not have it. Everyone forgets things sometimes; that is not dementia. Say «a person with dementia» rather than unkind words.
In the corpora
- A person with dementia may mix up names or think it is years ago; correcting them sharply can upset them.
- "Confused", said of an old person by carers, often means suffering from dementia.
- "Memory problems" is a polite way of saying dementia, an illness of the brain that makes people forget.
- Some older people get memory illnesses like dementia, and they still love their family.
- Dementia often wipes the newest memories first, and the oldest last, so Nan may be seeing little Sarah from forty years ago.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «dementia» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.