Elderspeak
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A simplified, patronizing speech style used by younger adults when addressing elderly people. uncountable
"In this case, the “communicative predicament of aging” is that elderspeak led to a decrease in the older adults' self-ratings of communicative competence yet it also improved their performance on the referential communication tasks."
Example
More examples"In this case, the “communicative predicament of aging” is that elderspeak led to a decrease in the older adults' self-ratings of communicative competence yet it also improved their performance on the referential communication tasks."
Etymology
From elder + -speak.
More for "elderspeak"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.