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:
Bless our adolescent boys: heroes in their own hearts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nassem said removing uniforms from schools was not the way forward and has sympathy with teachers and schools who are trying to manage complex adolescent behaviour.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Opera came calling, it was a wild, if exciting, adolescent company.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
But the pansexual Lestat de Lioncourt transformed them into rebellious, romantic figures, the stuff of adolescent FOMO, as opposed to decaying ghouls.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
“What time is it, Ma?” asked a muffled, adolescent voice from beneath a quilt.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
I would know; I’ve known her since we were 12 years old, awkward adolescents in Marcia Barryte’s Dodson Middle School drama class.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Agbaje also reports that his research team has released a freely accessible WHtR calculator designed to help detect excess fat in children and adolescents.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
“Reproductive goals counseling should be developmentally appropriate and designed to help adolescents reflect on their future aspirations related to relationships, childbearing, and family formation.”
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
"We found insufficient evidence to conclude that exposure to the Act had any early substantial effects on social media use among adolescents aged under 16," the researchers wrote.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
This is something that seems particularly true of young people, children, and adolescents.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
