adolescent
Americanadjective
-
growing to manhood or womanhood; youthful.
-
having the characteristics of adolescence or of an adolescent.
noun
-
adolescents
plural
adjective
-
of or relating to adolescence
-
informal behaving in an immature way; puerile
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of adolescent
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin adolēscent- (stem of adolēscēns “growing up,” present participle of adolēscere ), equivalent to adol(ē)- ( see adult) + -ēsc- verb suffix + -ent- adjective suffix; see -esce, -ent
Explanation
Adolescent is just a fancy word for teenager — someone who is no longer a child but is not yet an adult. The word can also be used as an adjective. For example, a particular clothing line might be geared toward adolescent girls. This word refers to all things related to teens — teenagers are adolescent, and the adolescent stage is after puberty and before adulthood. Since adults don't have a high opinion of teenagers, this word is also an insult. Movies full of fart jokes and immature shenanigans are called adolescent. If one adult says to another "You're acting very adolescent" that means "You're acting childish." Adolescent means something close to juvenile, another word that refers to young people and childish people.
Vocabulary lists containing adolescent
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Made You Look: Synonyms for "Immature"
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ant, -ent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“About a Boy,” however is a classic—spirited, funny, moving, and featuring exceptionally charismatic stars including Nicholas Hoult as the bullied adolescent who essentially adopts Mr. Grant’s selfish loner as his dad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Conceiving his adaptation as a childlike sci-fi fairy tale, Waititi draws from his cheerful 2016 adolescent adventure “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” and the mixture of pathos and irony that informed “Jojo Rabbit.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Coppola filled the film tip-to-couture-heeled-toe with songs from ’80s punk and new wave groups, creating a throughline between her own teenage preoccupations and the adolescent Queen of France’s frivolities.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
In Me and My Girl, he played a widow living with his adolescent daughter.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
A band of thirty adolescent girls crossed Fifth Avenue.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
"All high-caffeine beverages carry a 'not recommended for children' label. The available evidence shows that the vast majority of caffeine consumed by children and adolescents comes from sources other than energy drinks."
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Shelter and counseling can offer a lifeline to those vulnerable adolescents.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
Researchers at the Mood Disorders Institute at Binghamton University study how depression develops in children and adolescents, with particular attention to how family history and emotional experiences may influence vulnerability over time.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
Young adolescents who turn to chatbots for companionship feel more lonely, a new study says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Of course, since we no longer count the years numerically, aside from children and adolescents, no one knows how old anyone is anymore—sometimes not even themselves.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
