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.
In 2023, an estimated one in five children and adolescents were living with a mental health disorder, and anxiety was among the most frequently reported conditions.
From Science Daily
The ruling brings the law in cases involving children into line with adolescents and adults that have suffered life-shortening injuries, who were already able to claim for 'lost years'.
From BBC
“What I meant to say is, that doesn’t matter either. If you’re going through some adolescent ‘Who am I?’ phase, it’s not because you’re adopted.
From Literature
Piecing together my turbulent family life and adolescent internet habits, among other things, it dawned on me that I had never been “born in the wrong body.”
The analysis found strong support for five medications used in children and adolescents.
From Science Daily
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.
