Definitions of Centenarian
- (noun) An individual, aged 100 years old or older.
- (adjective) Relating to an individual 100 years old or older.
Examples of Centenarian
- Irving Berlin (1888–1989)
- Louise Marion Bosworth (1881–1982)
- George Burns (1896–1996)
- Jean-Louise Calment (1875–1997)
- Joe Medicine Crow (1913–2016)
- Robert Kahn (1918–2019)
- Bob Hope (1903–2003)
- Grandma Moses (1860–1961)
- Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009)
Centenarian Pronunciation
Syllabification: cen·te·nar·i·an
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sen-tuh-nAIR-ee-uhn/
- British English – /sen-ti-nEUH-riuhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˌsɛn(t)əˈnɛriən/
- British English – /ˌsɛntᵻˈnɛːrɪən/
Usage Notes
- Plural: centenarians
- A supercentenarian is aged 110 years or older.
- A type of ascribed status and individual.
Additional Information
- Aging and Social Gerontology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Death and Dying Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “centenarian” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- age
- dependency ratio
- gerontology
- hospice
- life expectancy
- primary aging
- role exit
- secondary aging
- senescence
- social gerontology
- thanatology
Works Consulted
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of Centenarian
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “centenarian.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved May 29, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/centenarian/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
centenarian. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/centenarian/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “centenarian.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed May 29, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/centenarian/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“centenarian.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 29 May. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/centenarian/>.