Question

Extreme old age when a man behaves like a fool

• A. Imbecility
• B. Senility
• C. Dotage
• D. Superannuation

Hint:

Dotage is a term used specifically for the loss of mental faculties in old age that may cause a person to act foolishly.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The definition has two parts that must both be satisfied: "extreme old age" and "behaves like a fool."
Imbecility covers foolishness but not age, senility covers age-related decline but not specifically foolish behavior, and superannuation is about retirement, not behavior.
Dotage is the one word built to describe exactly this combination, old age paired with childish or foolish conduct.
Therefore, the correct answer is Dotage.

Answer 2

Another way to approach this is through word origin: "dotage" comes from the verb "dote," which originally meant to be silly or to show impaired judgement, and later came to describe the weak-minded stage of old age.

1. Imbecility: Comes from a root meaning "weak" or "feeble" generally, with no built-in reference to a stage of life, so it is too broad for this specific meaning.
2. Senility: Comes from the Latin "senex" meaning "old," so it captures age but its everyday sense is about general decline, not specifically foolish behavior.
3. Dotage: Directly built from "dote," meaning to act foolishly or with impaired judgement, and used specifically for old age, which matches the question precisely.
4. Superannuation: Built from Latin roots meaning "beyond the years," used for retirement age in a formal/administrative sense, unrelated to foolish behavior.

Tracing each word's origin and common usage again points to the same word.

Therefore, the correct answer is Dotage.