Progeria
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An extremely rare genetic condition wherein symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at an early age. countable, uncountable
"Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome or progeria (derived from pro, before, and geras, old age) is characterized by premature ageing (Fig. 18.1) and the early onset of age-related symptoms such as joint restriction and cerebral and myocardial infarction. Progeria occurs in about one in eight million people (DeBusk, 1972), but the true incidence may be somewhat higher (Sarkar and Shinton, 2001)."
- 2 a rare abnormality marked by premature aging (grey hair and wrinkled skin and stooped posture) in a child wordnet
Example
More examples"Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome or progeria (derived from pro, before, and geras, old age) is characterized by premature ageing (Fig. 18.1) and the early onset of age-related symptoms such as joint restriction and cerebral and myocardial infarction. Progeria occurs in about one in eight million people (DeBusk, 1972), but the true incidence may be somewhat higher (Sarkar and Shinton, 2001)."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek προγήρως (progḗrōs, “prematurely old”) + -ia.
Related phrases
More for "progeria"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.