adolescence

[ad-l-es-uhns]

noun

1. the transitional period between puberty and adulthood in human development, extending mainly over the teen years and terminating legally when the age of majority is reached; youth.

2. the process or state of growing to maturity.

3. a period or stage of development, as of a society, preceding maturity.

adolescence

/ ˌædəˈlɛsəns /

noun

1. the period in human development that occurs between the beginning of puberty and adulthood

adolescence

1. The period of physical and psychological development from puberty to the onset of adulthood.

Word History and Origins

Origin of adolescence¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin adolēscentia, from adolēscent-, stem of adolēscēns “growing up” ( adolescent ) + -ia -ia ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of adolescence¹

C15: via Old French from Latin adolēscentia, from adolēscere to grow up, from alēscere to grow, from alēre to feed, nourish

Example Sentences

He had come to sponsor my teenage son Finn as he received the sacrament of Confirmation, a Catholic rite of adolescence.

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As the years passed, Goodall continued to track Gombe’s chimps, accumulating enough information to draw the arcs of their lives — from birth through sometimes troubled adolescence, maturity, illness and finally death.

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Initially, the company’s products primarily served people with Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that typically develops in adolescence.

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By the 1980s, when she was entering adolescence, Yugoslavia descended into an economic crisis.

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Members of every generation have complained in adolescence that adults don’t understand them.

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Related Words

• boyhood 
• teens