Dictionary

on in years en · ADJ

Pronunciation

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Meanings

1. (euphemistic, idiomatic, mildly, not-comparable, usually) Old; advanced in age.
   • I am getting on in years; and my partner Lazarus has at last made a stand and insisted that the succession must be settled. 1905, George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara, act 3:
   • More years went by, and his wife was dead, and he well on in years. 1893, William Butler Yeats, “An Enduring Heart”, in The Celtic Twilight:
   • [O]ld as I am,—I do not mean aged, but well on in years,—I believe in love still. 1909, F. Marion Crawford, chapter 20, in A Roman Singer:
   • Brittle bones can be more than just a bother for anyone who is getting on in years. 2004 May 24, Alice Park, “Health: Old Bones, New Hope”, in Time:
   • Being rather young at present—I am getting on in years, but still I am rather young—I have no particular adventures of my own to fall back upon. 1853, Charles Dickens, The Schoolboy's Story:

Forms

Synonyms

elderly