Usage Note
Démence has both a clinical sense (dementia, cognitive decline) and a stronger informal sense of madness or insanity — c'est de la démence ('it's sheer madness'). The adjective dément(e) can describe a person with dementia or, colloquially, something staggering or incredible. The medical term la maladie d'Alzheimer is more specific in clinical contexts.
Examples
"Sa démence s'est aggravée avec l'âge."
Natural Translation
His dementia worsened with age.
Related Words
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