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
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
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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.
Regarding conflicts of interest, Dr. Peterson is the President of Evolve Psychiatry Professional Corporation and an advisor to Evolve Adolescent Behavioral Health, where he receives stock options and provides expert testimony.
From Science Daily • May 21, 2026
Adolescent brains are still developing into the early 20s, said psychologist Amy Orben, who leads a digital mental health programme at the University of Cambridge.
From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025
Adolescent mothers are also far less likely than their peers to finish high school, more likely to experience mental health problems and poverty, and more likely to live in socially and economically disadvantaged communities.
From Slate • May 29, 2025
The study, published in Cell Reports, also used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2025
According to Chubs, Jack Fields was the second son in a family of five kids, and the only one to survive Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
