Definition of mental age in US English:
mental age
nounˈmen(t)l ājˈmɛn(t)l eɪdʒ
A person's mental ability expressed as the age at which an average person reaches the same ability.
she was 65 but had a mental age of two
Example sentencesExamples
- Police are becoming increasingly worried for the safety of a 13-year-old with a mental age of eight who went missing a week ago.
- The keen Stockport County and Manchester City fan, who was 38 when he vanished, was described as having a mental age of an eight-year-old child and needed constant care and medication for epilepsy.
- Indeed, by the time children's mental ages reach 24 months, significant delays in expressive language abilities are evident in 83% to 100% of children with Down syndrome.
- I would also point out that if an adult were found to have the mental age of a 10 year old, they would be considered unfit to stand trial.
- Assessments should be made from childhood so that people with a mental age of nine or ten are not left to fend for themselves.