centenarian

Definitions of Centenarian

1. (noun) An individual, aged 100 years old or older.
2. (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

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: cen·te·nar·i·an

Audio Pronunciation

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

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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 November 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 November 29, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/centenarian/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“centenarian.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/centenarian/>.