adolescence

[ ad-l-es-uhns ]

/ ˌæd lˈɛs əns /

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See 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.

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Origin of adolescence

1400–50; late Middle English <Middle French <Latin adolēscentia.See adolescent, -ence

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH adolescence

adolescence , adolescents

Words nearby adolescence

adobe, adobe flat, adobo, Ado-Ekiti, A dog is a man's best friend, adolescence, adolescent, Adolf, Doll's House, A, Adonai, Adonic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adolescence in a sentence

Friends — who take on paramount importance during adolescence — are largely out of reach, accessible mostly by social media, which brings its own mix of satisfying and toxic elements.
The loneliness of an interrupted adolescence|Ellen McCarthy|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
So many of us have been where you are now, especially in an unimaginably fractured and stressful year, one that has made everything that’s already difficult about adolescence that much harder.
Dear Struggling Parents, It's Not Just You. This Is Hard|Susanna Schrobsdorff|January 31, 2021|Time
Violet, now on the cusp of adolescence, is framed in one of the windows, locking eyes with Blythe, the mother whose breakdown and banishment she orchestrated.
Why is ‘The Push’ so popular? Perhaps because it plays into a mother’s worst fears.|Maureen Corrigan|January 21, 2021|Washington Post
Compared to other marketing disciplines such as print and broadcast, we’re in our adolescence at best, which is actually an exciting place to be.
3 Critical PPC Lessons from 2020 for a Brilliant 2021|Sponsored Content: Optmyzr|January 19, 2021|Search Engine Land

Her team’s new research now suggests what the ideal mix of activities and rest is during adolescence to build strong bones for your adult years.
Strongest bones come from Goldilocks recipe of exercise and rest|Lindsey Konkel|December 18, 2020|Science News For Students
Kids approaching adolescence get a brief discussion about confidentiality.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R.|Russell Saunders|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And that was the soul, very active in adolescence—like everything else.
Martin Amis Talks About Nazis, Novels, and Cute Babies|Ronald K. Fried|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It goes back with me not to childhood so much as to late adolescence.
Martin Amis Talks About Nazis, Novels, and Cute Babies|Ronald K. Fried|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The moral duties and doubts of adulthood are swapped out for the histrionic creeds of adolescence.
Two New Films Preach Our Nation’s Corrosive Gridiron Gospel|Steve Almond|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Across the globe, millions of boys and girls are betrothed so young they spend the majority of their adolescence already married.
The Sad Hidden Plight of Child Grooms|Nina Strochlic|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it seems to me that with adolescence comes the right to knowledge and the right of judgment.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Dim, forgotten perils of adolescence come to my mind, as a cloud obscures the summer sun.
The Idyl of Twin Fires|Walter Prichard Eaton
Unfortunately, the characteristics of the spoiled child do not vanish with childhood or even with adolescence.
Humanly Speaking|Samuel McChord Crothers
The generation which numbered Bryan Dalyrimple drifted out of adolescence to a mighty fan-fare of trumpets.
Flappers and Philosophers|F. Scott Fitzgerald
Usually in early adolescence it bursts its casings and shoots into consciousness, powerfully affecting the emotions and the will.
The Minister and the Boy|Allan Hoben

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