1.
wandering; roaming; loitering
Walking around aimlessly without a clear purpose or destination. Often used in medical contexts for dementia-related wandering.
Usage
- Three typical settings: a person with dementia wandering off and getting lost, a suspicious person loitering in a neighborhood, and (in literary language) aimless roaming.
Common collocations
- 徘徊する: to wander, to roam
- 深夜徘徊: wandering the streets late at night (often of minors)
- 徘徊行動: wandering behavior (in dementia care)
Watch out
- In dementia care the word is increasingly felt to be stigmatizing, since the person usually has a purpose in mind. Some local governments and care organizations now say 一人歩き instead.