Learn English – an expression for “getting older in appearance”

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"The children in school grew up so fast. They, like their parents,
went about their professional career. In a flash they became gray and
grizzled, and were getting tired of life."

Is there a better expression than "gray and grizzled"? I want to express the subject's appearance getting older, their skin with more and more wrinkles, their face with increasing spots, and hair turning gray. Is there an expression or word that would vividly depict this feeling of "getting older in appearance"?

Best Answer

There are a number of different words that could do the trick. The most common being "to age":

to become old or older http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/age

There's olden: Def. 1) intr. To grow old, to become old in appearance or character, to age

Def 2) trans. To cause to grow old, to make older in appearance or character, to age Source: OED2

There's veterate: "To wax [become] old"

and the adjective veterascent: "Growing old" Source: OED2

Finally, if you're looking for a word that means deteriorate with age you can look at senesce: "(Of a living organism) deteriorate with age" Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/senesce

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