adolescent
Americanadjective
-
growing to manhood or womanhood; youthful.
-
having the characteristics of adolescence or of an adolescent.
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to adolescence
-
informal behaving in an immature way; puerile
noun
Other Word Forms
- adolescently adverb
- postadolescent adjective
- subadolescent adjective
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)- ( adult ) + -ēsc- verb suffix + -ent- adjective suffix; -esce, -ent
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.
But even as an adolescent growing up in Harlem, she felt like an old soul, her thoughts running deeper than the average kid’s.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
"There is a tendency for anxious parents to become caught up in a prevailing media panic and see all adolescent brains as simply hardwired for social media addiction," he says.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
"Cumulative trauma, cumulative adverse experiences and ongoing instability and unpredictability certainly put these children at higher risk... of developing psychiatric disorders and negative mental health outcomes," Evelyne Baroud, a child and adolescent psychiatrist told AFP.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
It’s part of what makes her desperate struggle for some adolescent normalcy so resonant.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
There is no shutting down the competitive nature of an adolescent dude.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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.
