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
Spider-Man's Word Web
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Made You Look: Synonyms for "Immature"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ant, -ent
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
“He’s the richest man on Earth but he’s also sort of a stubborn adolescent at the same time,” Gibney says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“For some, estrangement is their first chance at adolescent rebellion,” Coleman says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Demographic data indicated that the majority of survivors were women aged 18-59, followed by adolescent girls at 8% and adult men at 5%.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
With the market for video games now expanded well beyond the stereotype of adolescent boys, the team behind the new game says this time they are focusing on Lara as a strong character.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Jerry was as normal as any other awkward fourteen-year-old adolescent, but Nick’s mother, Mercedes, was another story altogether.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
These might be appropriate for older children and adolescents when lifestyle approaches have failed and if the individual is "mentally and physically prepared" for the treatment, she added.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Shelter and counseling can offer a lifeline to those vulnerable adolescents.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
To investigate, the team analyzed information from more than 2.1 million children and adolescents in Denmark.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
The kids, an afterthought, come off as genuine—muttering adolescents who are embarrassed to be looked at, much less talked to.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
I thought to myself, a bit ironically, “Why don’t you take more interest in your own adolescents first!”
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Definitions 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.
