definitions

adolescence

[ ad-l-es-uh ns ]
/ ˌæd lˈɛs əns /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adolescence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.
the process or state of growing to maturity.
a period or stage of development, as of a society, preceding maturity.

RELATED WORDS

boyhood, teens, juvenility, minority, spring, youth, greenness, girlhood, youthfulness, pubescence

Nearby words

ado, ado-ekiti, adobe, adobe flat, adobo, adolescence, adolescent, adolescent medicine, adolf, adolph, adon olam

Origin of adolescence

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French < Latin adolēscentia. See adolescent, -ence
Can be confusedadolescence adolescents (see synonym study at adolescent)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for adolescence

British Dictionary definitions for adolescence

adolescence

/ (ˌædəˈlɛsəns) /

noun

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

Word Origin for adolescence

C15: via Old French from Latin adolēscentia, from adolēscere to grow up, from alēscere to grow, from alēre to feed, nourish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adolescence

adolescence

n.

"age following childhood" (especially the period from the 15th to the 21st year), early 15c., from Middle French adolescence (14c.), from Latin adolescentia "youth," noun of state from adolescentem (see adolescent).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for adolescence

adolescence

[ ăd′l-ĕs′əns ]

n.

The period of physical and psychological development from the onset of puberty to complete growth and maturity.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Science definitions for adolescence

adolescence

[ ăd′l-ĕs′əns ]

The period of physical and psychological development from puberty to the onset of adulthood.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.